DNC Deputy Chair Rep Keith Ellison on Russia Dossier: Opposition Research ‘Just Part of How Campaigns Are Run in a Modern American Election’

Sunday on MSNBC’s “Kasie DC,” host Kasie Hunt asked Democratic National Committee deputy chairman Keith Ellison (D-MN) if he thought it was a mistake for the DNC to pay for the so-called Russia dossier manufactured by Fusion GPS about Donald Trump.

Ellison dismissed it as part of the political process in a “modern American election.”

Partial transcript as follows:

HUNT: So, I want to start with the news that we’ve all been focused on this weekend, and that is, of course, the Russia investigation, and what has been unfolding there. And one issue … that Republicans have zeroed in on is the Steele dossier and what we learned from The Washington Post about who paid for that. Now, this happened before you were elected to your position at the DNC but do you think paying for that dossier was a mistake for the party to make?

ELLISON: You know, opposition research is commonly done by both parties. The real question is, are the statements in the dossier true or are they false? I mean, that’s the real issue. At the end of the day, the findings in that research are things that Trump ought to either deny or and there should be investigations about. That’s the real question. But asking me whether a political party did some background research on a political candidate is like saying, ‘Did you buy lawn signs? Did you buy flyers and literature?’ It’s just part of how campaigns are run in a modern American election.

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