The Trump campaign sent TV producers an email about the 'credibility of certain guests'
Television producers received an email Monday from President Trump's campaign director of communications. The note questioned the credibility of certain guests — nearly all of them Democratic lawmakers.
Tim Murtaugh's memo came on the heels of Attorney General William Barr releasing his summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report about alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia ahead of the 2016 election. Barr wrote that Mueller didn't find evidence Trump or his associates coordinated with Moscow, and Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice. Immediately after the summary's release, Trump falsely claimed he had been "completely exonerated."
In his memo, Murtaugh calls out Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), former CIA Director John Brennan, and Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez, accusing them of "vigorously and repeatedly" making up stories about connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. There "must be introspection from the media who facilitated the reckless statements," Murtaugh scolded, "and a serious evaluation of how such guests are considered and handled in the future."
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Swalwell responded on Twitter, declaring that the "only person who has been caught lying about Russia is Donald Trump. If he thinks I've made a false statement, he can sue me. And I'll beat him in court."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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