Rick Santorum mounts a linguistic defense of Trump's foreign election help comments to skeptical CNN panel

(Image credit: Screenshot/CNN via MMFA)

President Trump's statement that he would accept "oppo research" on a political opponent from a foreign government and would "maybe" tell the FBI was jarring to most observers, even if they found it in character for Trump. Longtime presidential adviser David Gergen told CNN's Anderson Cooper eh was "shocked but not surprised" by Trump's comments, adding that legally, Trump or anyone else in the government with a top security clearance, has "an affirmative obligation to call the FBI" if a foreign government, especially an adversarial one, "approaches you with information like this." In fact, he added, "it would be breaking the law not to call them."

Resident Trump supporter Rick Santorum pointed out that Trump said he would both "listen" to the opposition research from a foreign government and call the FBI, and when Gergen and Cooper noted that Trump said "maybe" and contradicted his FBI director's directive to alert authorities, Santorum called "maybe" just one of Trump's "filler words," said Trump's language is often "imprecise," and said he doesn't "think there's a crime in looking at the information as long as you refer it to the proper authorities."

Laura Coates, a former federal prosecutor and current CNN legal analyst, wasn't having it. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.