Donald Trump

Trump Tweets Old Photos of Schumer, Pelosi With Russian Leaders

President Donald Trump, his administration under siege for contacts with Russian officials, tweeted a photo Friday that showed Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer meeting with Putin in New York in 2003.

"We should start an immediate investigation into @SenSchumer and his ties to Russia and Putin," he wrote. "A total hypocrite!"

Schumer responded on Twitter a short time later by writing that he would "happily talk" under oath about his meeting with Putin, which took place "in full view of press and public."

The New York senator challenged Trump to do the same then followed up on Twitter by writing, "And for the record, they were Krispy Kreme donuts."

Later Friday, Trump went after House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, tweeting: "I hereby demand a second investigation, after Schumer, of Pelosi for her close ties to Russia, and lying about it." His initial tweet included the misspelled word "hearby," but that tweet was later replaced.

He linked to a Politico story that reported that Pelosi had said she had never met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. But the story includes a photo of Pelosi shows her at a 2010 meeting sitting across the table from Kislyak.

Pelosi fired back on Twitter, saying Trump "doesn't know difference between official mtg photographed by press & closed secret mtg his AG lied about under oath."

Trump's tweets come a day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions came under scrutiny for his two meetings with a Russian ambassador.

The photo showing Putin and Schumer together was shot when Putin was visiting New York to celebrate the expansion of Russian-owned Lukoil gas stations, NBC News reported. 

Before it was elevated to the president's Twitter feed Friday it was featured on several conservative websites, including The Drudge Report. 

On the same trip to the United States in 2003, Putin traveled to Camp David, Maryland, where he met with Republican President George W. Bush and the two held a joint news conference.

Trump has been trailed for months by questions about potential ties to Russia. He has vigorously denied being aware of any contacts his associates had with Russia during the campaign and has also insisted he has no financial ties to Russia. 

Sessions on Thursday became the second high-ranking member of the Trump administration to take a hit over conversations with Russia's envoy to the U.S., recusing himself from any probe that examines communications between Trump aides and Moscow but facing down calls by Schumer and other Democrats for his resignation. An early backer and key adviser for Trump's campaign, Sessions said his staff recommended that he step aside from a probe. 

Two weeks ago, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, resigned as national security adviser after misleading White House officials about his own discussions with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. 

Additional communication was revealed Thursday between Kislyak and Flynn and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, at New York's Trump Tower. In addition, Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump's presidential campaign, spoke with the ambassador last summer, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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