Senator Mitt Romney has slammed Donald Trump for saying that he would accept dirt on a political opponent from a foreign government, saying the president’s remarks are “simply unthinkable.”
Mr Romney, who was the 2012 Republican nominee for president before winning his Senate seat last year, said during an impromptu interview with reporters that he would contact the FBI immediately if a foreign government approached him in that way.
“I ran for president twice. I ran for governor once. I ran for Senate twice,” Mr Romney said. “I’ve never had any attempt made by a foreign government. … Had that occurred, I would’ve contacted the FBI immediately.”
Mr Trump has found himself under fire for his comments on the matter, which were made during an interview with ABC News.
Following after repeated criticism of officials with his 2016 campaign pursuing offers for dirt from Russia during that election, Mr Trump suggested that there is nothing wrong with the practice.
“It’s not an interference, they have information — I think I’d take it,” Mr Trump said.
“If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI — if I thought there was something wrong,” he continued, claiming that an offer for dirt on a political adversary from a foreign government amounts to “oppo research”.
Those comments have been highly criticised since, and references have been made to an incident during the 2000 election when then-vice president Al Gore’s campaign received an anonymous file showing in detail how George W Bush planned on approaching an upcoming debate between the two men.
In response, the Gore campaign handed over the documents to the FBI, fearing an undue influence on the campaign.
