WATCH: Rep says McCarthy apologized to him for Putin remark

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) says House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) apologized to him for a “joke” he made about Rohrabacher being on the payroll of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Washington Post, citing an audio recording, this week reported that McCarthy told Republicans during a private meeting on Capitol Hill last summer that he thought Putin pays Rohrabacher and President Trump. This week, McCarthy called the remark “a bad attempt at a joke.”

{mosads}”That was a joke that didn’t make it,” Rohrabacher said with a laugh.

“Listen, people know that I am outspoken on certain issues,” he told The Hill’s Molly K. Hooper. “Look, I’m a Republican fighting to legalize marijuana, for God’s sake! Do I get money from the cartels? No!”

Watch the video to hear Rohrabacher’s reaction in his own words.