Professor Karen Greenberg provided her expert opinion in a Politifact article that looks at President Trump’s statement saying that he would accept information on an election opponent from a foreign government.
Trump’s controversial statement came after Stephanopoulos asked if he would alert the FBI in the event that a foreign government like Russia offered dirt on an election opponent, or if he would take the information.
“I think maybe you do both,” Trump said. “I think you might want to listen. There’s nothing wrong with listening.”
“It’s not an interference,” he added. “They have information. I think I’d take it.”
Trump’s comments put him at odds with FBI Director Christopher Wray, who said in testimony before Congress that the FBI would like to know if a public official or campaign were contacted by a foreign government about influencing an election.
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“Working hand-in-hand with a foreign power for information intended to influence an election is different than hiring a private firm that then hired somebody who had been a former intelligence agent,” said Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law.“Everybody does opposition research,” she added. “The issue here is the foreign government.”