Progressive activist: Trump signaling ‘green light’ for corruption

Progressive activist Igor Volsky said on Friday that President Trump is giving corruption in the GOP “the green light,” amid the indictments against the first two congressmen to endorse him and criminal convictions for his former campaign chief and former personal attorney.

“The problem is this is systemic. You have someone at the White House who thinks he’s above the law, the law doesn’t apply to him. He can pardon anybody. He can pardon himself,” Volsky, the founder of gun control group Guns Down, told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”

“That kind of attitude really trickles down,” he continued. “It’s pervasive now. Trump, with his behavior, with his attitude, is giving it the green light.”

On Tuesday, Michael Cohen, who for years worked as Trump’s lawyer, pleaded guilty in New York to multiple charges including campaign finance violations in which he implicated the president. Meanwhile, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight counts of tax and bank fraud in Northern Virginia.

Also on Tuesday, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and his wife, Margaret, were indicted and charged with misusing at least $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses. They both pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

Tuesday’s indictment against Hunter follows separate charges against Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) earlier this month over alleged federal securities fraud related to an Australian pharmaceutical company.

Collins and Hunter were the first two members of Congress to endorse Trump’s presidential bid.

Washington Examiner reporter Philip Wegmann warned that the recent allegations could give ammunition to Democrats.

“The Republican Party has Duncan Hunter problem, and it’s bigger than just him. You mentioned Collins a second ago,” Wegmann told Ball and Sexton.

“I think right now you see a lot of corruption. We’re talking about Cohen, Manafort, and that case of characters. Republicans need to take this seriously, nip it in the bud because what this does is it gives ammunition to reform Democrats like Elizabeth Warren.”

— Julia Manchester