While Donald Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort resigned Friday — as questions arose over the Republican candidate’s ties to Russia — Hillary Clinton’s campaign warned that Trump remains a “puppet” for the Kremlin.
Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” telling host George Stephanopoulos why Manafort’s absence doesn’t amount to Trump severing Russian ties, after reports alleged his campaign took millions in cash and that secret lobbying efforts on Russia’s behalf were in motion.
“We now need Donald Trump to explain to us the extent to which the hand of the Kremlin is at the core of his own campaign,” Mook said, whose remarks on the topic start at the 1:20 mark in the above video.
“There’s a web of financial interests that have not been disclosed. And there are real questions being raised about whether Donald Trump himself is just a puppet for the Kremlin in this race.
“The hand of the Kremlin has been at work in this [Trump’s] campaign for some time,” Mook said on Sunday. “It’s clear that they are supporting Donald Trump.”
Mook claimed that Trump has “parroted” remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past few weeks. He also said Trump invited a man linked to the Kremlin’s English-language TV channel, RT, to his first classified intelligence briefing on Wednesday that was led by U.S. national security officials.
Mook was referring to Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who is a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Flynn appeared on RT as an analyst and also went to a dinner in Moscow last December for the 10th anniversary of the cable network.
“[Flynn] was sitting two seats away from Vladimir Putin at their 10th Anniversary gala,” said Mook.
“There are a lot of questions here,” added the Clinton campaign manager. “And we need Donald Trump to disclose all of his financial ties and whether his advisers are having meetings with the Kremlin.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway argued why “this is the best week ever” for the Republican presidential candidate. She said the candidate is making a “pivot,” stumping on issues around law enforcement, defeating radical Islamic terrorism and paths to middle class tax relief.
See more of what she had to say here.