GOP senator: Trump 'providing aid and comfort' to the enemy

Republican Senator Jeff Flake ripped President Donald Trump on Thursday, accusing him of "providing aid and comfort" to the enemy and invoking rhetoric related to Article III of the Constitution – treason against the United States.

“Well, we saw earlier this week in Helsinki what was a truly an Orwellian moment," Flake said. "What we saw earlier this week in Helsinki is what happens when you wage war on objective reality for nearly two solid years. Calling real things fake, and fake things, real.”

Sen. Flake, who is retiring later this year has emerged as a vocal GOP critic of the president and a potential primary challenger for Trump in 2020. He took to the floor in hopes of passing a resolution that would give Senate support to findings by the intelligence community, confirming again that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

The resolution was blocked shortly after his speech, but Flake was undeterred in his criticism of Trump -- at a time when the president is facing strong criticism for his actions during a press conference with Putin in Helsinki.

Trump, on the other hand, has remained steadfast in his criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe.

“I think that the probe is a disaster for our country," he said. "I think it's kept us apart. It's kept us separated. There was no collusion at all. Everybody knows it."

Despite the president's doubts, lawmakers continue to express their dismay after Trump walked back several comments about his meeting with Putin and his rejection of the U.S. intelligence communities' findings on Russian election meddling.

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