CNN invited former Republican New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu to defend President Donald Trump’s handling of the deepening Russia scandal, but he spent most of the time denying that Trump or his team had done anything wrong — much to the amusement of CNN’s Alisyn Camerota.
During the interview, Camerota asked Sununu what he thought about Jared Kushner during the transition arranging both a back channel to communicate with Russian government officials using their own equipment and to meet with the head of a Russian state bank.
Sununu’s response was that there was nothing improper about it at all.
“I don’t think there is anything there,” Sununu said. “So you’re implying — you’re implying — because during the ten weeks [of the presidential transition] everybody is trying to meet the administration. Everybody who is involved in business. Everybody who is involved in politics. I can’t tell you how many people tried to meet with me between the time I was named chief of staff.”
Camerota then asked Sununu, who served as chief of staff to former President George H.W. Bush, if he’d ever met with the head of a Russian bank during a presidential transition.
“No, but I had breakfast with the vice president at the Russian embassy, and a lot of folks there started talking to me!” Sununu said, which prompted Camerota to snicker.“Would you have carved out time to meet with a Russian banker with ties to Vladimir Putin if he asked?” she then asked him.
“I’m not even sure what would have happened,” he said. “First of all, Putin wasn’t there. Look, you’re asking hypotheticals on hypotheticals.”
At the end of the interview, Camerota struggled to keep herself from laughing as she told Sununu that “we appreciate your perspective that there is nothing to see here, and that the investigation is, I don’t know, silly.”