<div>https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/...fc3a515301
 
Lawmakers laugh off Putin’s offer to provide evidence
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<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">As a parade of lawmakers appeared on television Wednesday morning to discuss the latest turmoil emerging from the White House, another piece of news broke: Russian President Vladimir Putin had offered to provide U.S. Congress a transcript of President Trump’s meeting with Russian envoys to prove that no classified secrets were divulged.

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">Putin’s offer was quickly brushed off — even laughed off — by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">“I wouldn’t put much credibility on what Putin’s notes are,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said on Fox News.

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">He added: “And if it comes in an email, I wouldn’t click on the attachment.”

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">In an appearance on CNN, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) wondered if the latest development was part of some Russian plot to undermine confidence in democracy.

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">“The idea that we would accept any evidence from President Putin is absurd,” she said, smiling.

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">This seemed to be the one point Republicans and Democrats could agree on, immediately, Wednesday morning.

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) chuckled as CNN host Chris Cuomo asked what he made of Putin’s “generous” offer.

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">“I think the last thing the president needs right now is Putin vouching for him,” Schiff told Cuomo. “All of this just gets more and more baffling every day, but I don’t think we should allow it to distract us from the very serious allegations.”

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said any evidence Putin wanted to provide probably wouldn’t have much credence on Capitol Hill.

<p style="font-size:18px;font-family:Georgia;">“I don’t talk to murderous dictators like Vladimir Putin, so Putin’s word to me doesn’t mean a whole lot,” Kinzinger said on CNN.

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