Published April 18, 2019
Sen. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, appearing Thursday on “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” said the Trump campaign's refusal to accept “forbidden fruit” while interacting with Russian operatives intent on influencing the 2016 election was a good thing for America.
“"What I take away from this multiple times -- and the attorney general was clear about this -- multiple times they dangled forbidden fruit in front of people, in front of the Trump campaign, and they didn't bite,” Jordan told Cavuto.
“That is reassuring. That ... reflects well on the president of the United States. Multiple times they had opportunities to collude, and they didn't take them up on it, which is critically important information.”
Jordan and Meadows were reacting to the Mueller report’s release on Thursday. The report did point to an array of controversial actions and requests made by the president that were examined as part of the investigation’s obstruction inquiry, though it ultimately made no finding of collusion with Moscow.
Cavuto asked the senator and congressman what they could do stop Russian interference in future elections, or if they would be concerned with any 2020 campaign staff taking meetings with Russian officials.
Meadows said the Obama administration was aware that the Russians were looking to interfere in the 2016 election, even as Donald Trump was in the dark.
“Interesting enough that the only people who knew the Russians were involved during the 2016 election were the Obama administration. It wasn't the president of the United States today. It was the president back then,” Meadows said.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-campaigns-rejection-of-moscows-forbidden-fruit-reflects-well-on-president-lawmakers-tell-cavuto