GOP senator defends Trump amid Parnas recording: ‘Certainly the president meets a lot of people’

Republican Sen. James Lankford (Okla.) defended President Trump Sunday amid newly released audio of a conversation between Trump and Lev Parnas that raises questions about whether Trump lied about not knowing the indicted businessman. 

Lankford said the audio of the meeting of Trump and Parnas, a Rudy Giuliani associate, doesn’t show that Trump was lying when he said he did not know the Ukrainian businessman. 

{mosads}”It’s a dinner, 90 minutes of a dinner, hard to be able to say to the president who meets 1,000 people a day, ‘OK, do you know this person who was at a dinner with you a year and a half ago?” Lankford said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” 

CNN host Jake Tapper pressed Lankford, saying that the newly released audio shows Trump did not tell the truth. 

Lankford responded by suggesting that it is reasonable for him to not recall meeting someone he had at least one lengthy conversation with. 

“You meet a lot of people, I meet a lot of people, certainly the president meets a lot of people,” Lankford said. 

Republican Sen. James Lankford on Lev Parnas recording of President Trump, who claims he doesn’t know the indicted businessman: “Certainly the President meets a lot of people” pic.twitter.com/uIvTwGEbR0

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 26, 2020

The recording from the 2018 meeting reportedly included discussions of dismissing then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. 

Parnas is indicted on campaign finance charges. 

He provided information regarding communications about the pressure campaign in Ukraine to the House earlier this month. Trump has repeatedly denied knowing Parnas.