Special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the U.S. election is “personal” for President Donald Trump, but he’s “conflating” what’s being investigated, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Sunday.
In an interview on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” Cornyn warned that “Russians did meddle in our elections” and that America has to “be prepared for next time.”
"I think the president is … conflating the meddling investigation with the investigation into potential collusion… for which there has been no evidence revealed so far,” Cornyn said.
“And I think it's personal to him, because he feels like he is under attack, and, of course, he is,” Cornyn said. “We need to keep those separate. Yes, the Russians did meddle. Number two, did any American collude with them, and thus far, there is no evidence."
Cornyn said Trump also needs to be “clear-eyed about who he is dealing" going into this week’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Putin is an autocrat. He's a thug. He does not respect the rule of law,” Cornyn said. “Obviously he doesn't respected our democracy. And he wants to undermine it at every chance he gets.
“But on the other hand, there are commonalities here in terms of our desire the fight the Islamic extremism around the world.... So the president needs to be, and I think he is, clear-eyed about who he is dealing with. But there are some areas where I think constructive conversations can occur. "