House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told House Speaker Paul Ryan a year ago he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin was paying off Donald Trump, according to a report Wednesday evening.
"There's two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump," McCarthy said during a private discussion on Capitol Hill, according to a Washington Post report of the June 15, 2016, conversation. McCarthy was referring to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., who has a reputation for defending Putin and Russia.
"Swear to God," McCarthy added.
McCarthy, Ryan and others had just left talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, who had informed them of Moscow's method of financing populist politicians to hurt Eastern European democracies.
House Majority Leader McCarthy said last year he believed Putin was paying off Trump
