Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway, who broke the story of Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., meeting with a top Iranian official, pointed out the "hypocrisy" of Democrats who have previously railed against the Trump administration for talks with the Russians.
“A few years ago, when [former National Security Adviser] Mike Flynn, as an incoming member in the Trump administration, had a conversation with his Russian counterpart, Chris Murphy thought that this was treasonous, illegal — that Mike Flynn needed to have his life ruined,” Hemingway told “Fox & Friends.”
Murphy confirmed Hemingway's earlier reporting on Tuesday, saying that he met with Iran's foreign minister and arguing that "it's dangerous not to talk to adversaries."
The two met at the Munich Security Conference amid tough rhetoric between President Trump and Iran's leadership. Murphy claimed he told Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that Congress is also responsible for setting U.S. foreign policy.
"I don’t know whether my visit with Zarif will make a difference. I’m not the President or the Secretary of State — I’m just a rank and file U.S. Senator. I cannot conduct diplomacy on behalf of the whole of the U.S. government, and I don’t pretend to be in a position to do so," Murphy wrote.
Hemingway pushed back that U.S. diplomacy can be harmed when other countries receive "mixed messages" from U.S. lawmakers. She said Murphy only released a statement after news of the secret meeting leaked out.
“The Department of Justice [and] media figures said that [the Flynn case] was a legitimate Logan Act violation, even though Mike Flynn was the incoming National Security Adviser. But now when Chris Murphy is having secret meetings in the hotel rooms of Iranian leaders … now he thinks that’s perfectly fine and, in fact, a very good thing," she said.
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Only two people – both in the 1800s – have ever been charged under the Logan Act, which makes it a crime for Americans to negotiate with hostile foreign governments unless authorized. Trump took to Twitter Wednesday to accuse Murphy of violating the law. He has previously accused former Secretary of State John Kerry of violating the law by meeting with Iranian officials in 2018.
Fox News’ Sam Dorman contributed to this report.
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