Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday that she wants to see if President Trump “was talking to” Russian President Vladimir Putin on “the day that insurgents invaded our Capitol.”
Clinton told Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on the former senator’s podcast “You and Me Both” that she hopes to see Trump’s phone records to determine if he spoke with Putin on Jan. 6, the day a mob of his supporters raided the Capitol in deadly riots.
“We learned a lot about our system of government over the last four years with a president who disdains democracy, and as you have said numerous times has other agendas,” Clinton said. “What they all are, I don’t think we yet know.”
“I hope historically we will find out who he’s beholden to, who pulls his strings,” she continued. “I would love to see his phone records to see whether he was talking to Putin the day that the insurgents invaded our Capitol.”
The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, who Trump defeated, said the Capitol breach that resulted in five deaths and scores of arrests showed that Trump’s “enablers,” “accomplices” and “cult members have the same disregard for democracy.”
Clinton said she agreed with Pelosi that Congress should create a panel similar to the 9/11 Commission to investigate what happened on Jan. 6 and whether any connections between the president and Russia were possible.
“Congress needs to establish an investigative body like the 9/11 Commission to determine Trump’s ties to Putin so we can repair the damage to our national security and prevent a puppet from occupying the presidency ever again,” Clinton tweeted along with audio from the interview.
In her interview, Pelosi recalled a photo of her standing up and pointing at Trump during a White House meeting, saying that she told the president, “with you, Mr. President, all roads lead to Putin.”
“I don’t know what Putin has on him politically, financially or personally, but what happened last week was a gift to Putin because Putin wants to undermine democracy in our country and throughout the world,” the Speaker said on the podcast.
“These people, unbeknownst to them, are Putin puppets,” she added, referring to the rioters. “They were doing Putin’s business when they did that at the incitement of an insurrection by the president of the United States.”
The riots in early January came after Trump called on his supporters to come to D.C. and protest as Congress worked to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory. The raid temporarily disrupted Congress from counting Electoral College votes from all 50 states, sending lawmakers to secure locations for hours.