House Intel Dem criticizes Trump for not taking ‘responsibility’ for mistake in congratulating Putin

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) lashed out at President Trump on Wednesday for failing to acknowledge that he acted wrongly in congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin on his electoral win.

“It’s a pattern of behavior. The president can’t take responsibility or ever be told he did something wrong,” Quigley, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, said on CNN.

“Here we are, the president of the United States congratulating an adversary who attacked the democratic process,” he said, referring to reports of ballot stuffing in the Russian election.

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Quigley’s comments came hours after Trump defended the call in a pair of tweets, in which he argued that “getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing,” and that he was succeeding where his predecessors had failed.

But in placing the call to Putin on Tuesday, Trump apparently disregarded advice given to him in briefing materials that instructed him not to congratulate the Russian leader.

Election observers have expressed concern about the openness of the Russian election, arguing that Putin faced no real competition in the race. The Russian president won 76 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election.

At the same time, Trump has faced scrutiny for failing to bring up Russia’s efforts to meddle in U.S. elections during the phone call with Putin. Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential race is the subject of a criminal investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump also did not raise the issue of the ex-spy recently poisoned in the U.K. The British government has blamed Moscow for the incident.

While some Trump administration officials, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, have recently been aggressive in their rhetoric toward Russia, the president has often appeared reluctant to criticize Moscow.

Democrats and some Republicans who have faulted Trump for not doing more to combat Russian efforts to disrupt and influence the 2016 election.