Michael Steele: Trump Was Aware of the Russian Bounty Plot on U.S. Soldiers, ‘He Can’t Spin This Out’

EXCERPT:

STEELE: "I will take up that challenge and say that they did brief him. I do not believe that something as important and severe as this was left untold to the President of the United States. What I think is disturbing is his reaction to it once he was told. The fact that there has been nothing done, there has been no rebuke officially from the United States, and the fact that the White House, even over the course of the President’s Tweets still has not denied the underlying intelligence that this is, in fact, what happened and this is, in fact, what we do know. And the reality of it is, you know, the President Tweets this is something to make Republicans look bad. No, this is something that makes you look bad because the fact of the matter is, you’re the one who’s in the focus here. This is not a political issue. This is a bounty placed on the heads of American soldiers. You are the commander in chief, all right? So this isn’t about politics, this is about what you do as a leader of men and women in uniform who now find out that you are okay with a bounty on their head by your — by our adversary. So this is what he’s going to have to account for. He can’t spin this out. There may be some Republicans who will run to his defense, that will be curious to watch."