Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said Wednesday that he believes House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was joking when the leading GOP lawmaker said Rohrabacher and President Trump are paid by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rohrabacher, a lawmaker viewed as friendly to Putin’s Russia, told reporters at the Capitol that McCarthy was joking when he made the remarks last June, but cautioned that the majority leader and others need to be “very careful” when using humor.
“He was joking,” Rohrabacher said. “He does that. He sort of makes jokes like that. There’s nothing wrong with that. It would be wrong for everyone to think it’s a news story that [McCarthy] jokes around that way.”
“He told me, he says ‘Dana, remember when I was joking around some place and blah blah, I mentioned that,’ and I said, ‘yeah, okay. Fine,'” Rohrabacher said, recounting when McCarthy talked to him prior to the story’s release.
“You have to be very careful when you’re using humor,” Rohrabacher said before recounting an example of such from when he asked a scientist, who claimed that cow flatulence was causing global warming, during a hearing if the dinosaurs disappeared because of dinosaur flatulence.
“I’m sure Kevin didn’t mean any harm — I’m sure,” he added. The longtime California congressman also said he wasn’t sure if he was at the meeting or not.
The news came after the Washington Post obtained a recording of McCarthy’s comments, which came in an off the record meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan and other lawmakers.
“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy said.
Ryan reportedly interjected immediately and told the members that the comment should be a secret. After laughs from lawmakers present, McCarthy added, “Swear to God.”
“No leaks… This is how we know we’re a real family here,” Ryan said, asking members to keep the conversations under wraps.
Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Ryan, said that the comments were a “failed attempt at humor.”
The story broke the same day the Justice Department appointed a special counsel to lead the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, including any possible collusion with Trump’s campaign.
