President Donald Trump lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday afternoon, calling the New York senator a "total hypocrite" over his calls to investigate Trump's ties to Russia.
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'I hereby demand a second investigation': Trump attacks Schumer, Pelosi for Russia ties
The White House pounced on a picture of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer drinking coffee and eating donuts with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Chuck Schumer
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"We should start an immediate investigation into @SenSchumer and his ties to Russia and Putin," Trump tweeted. He attached a photo of a younger Schumer drinking coffee and eating what appeared to be donuts with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"A total hypocrite!" Trump added.
The photos appear to have been taken at a gas station owned by Lukoil — Russia's state-run oil company — during a 2003 visit by Putin to New York.
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Later Friday, Trump demanded a second investigation into House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi after Politico surfaced a photo of her in a meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, following her denials of meeting with him in an interview on Friday morning.
"I hereby demand a second investigation, after Schumer, of Pelosi for close ties to Russia, and lying about it," Trump tweeted on Friday afternooon.
A spokesman clarified that Pelosi had meant she never had a solo meeting with Kislyak.
Trump's administration has faced increased scrutiny in recent days over its emerging ties to Russia and amid the US intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered with the 2016 election. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday recused himself from Justice Department investigations related to Trump's presidential campaign after reports revealed that during his confirmation hearings he did not disclose two meetings he held with Kislyak during the presidential campaign.
Schumer called for Sessions' resignation on Thursday, a day after the revelations emerged, and he underscored the need for a further evaluation of the "scope of Russia's interference" in the 2016 election in a tweet. Dan Scavino, the White House director of social media, responded succinctly: "Do it over donuts and coffee."
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Schumer fired back on Friday: "Happily talk re: my contact w Mr. Putin & his associates, took place in '03 in full view of press & public under oath. Would you & your team?" Schumer said.
"And for the record, they were Krispy Kreme donuts," Schumer added.
Pelosi also responded to Trump on Friday: ".@realDonaldTrump doesn't know difference between official mtg photographed by press & closed secret mtg his AG lied about under oath."
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