The Arizona Republic

Is Andy Biggs loyal to Constituti­on — or Donald Trump?

- EJ MONTINI

Rep. Andy Biggs used “smoke” as a metaphor to blow smoke — compoundin­g the embarrassm­ent he should feel for being an apologist, with poor narrative skills, for anything involving President Donald Trump. In a roundup of comments from Arizona’s congressio­nal delegation concerning the meeting Donald Trump Jr. now admits having with a Russian lawyer in June 2016 — a meeting he attended in the hope of getting trash on Hillary Clinton, and a meeting he went to after having been told that there were connection­s to Russian authoritie­s — Biggs tried to brush off the scandal.

First, he praised Trump Jr. for releasing emails about the meeting, something Trump Jr. did only after he knew the New York Times already had them.

Still, Biggs lauded him, saying that releasing the emails “was absolutely the right move” and then trying to underplay the whole sordid (and possibly criminal) episode.

“I think this is just smoke on a wet log that the Democrats keep trying to light on fire,” Biggs told the Fox Business Network. “There’s nothing there. You’ll see there’s nothing there. It was a brief meeting, ostensibly over opposition research. … I’m not even sure it’s a poor judgment call. Maybe it was handled in a clumsy fashion, but the reality is everybody’s seeking opposition research on their opponents.”

Nothing there? So why only be truthful about the episode after the press got a hold of it?

Just last weekend, Don Jr. said of the meeting, “We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow-up.” Nope. It was a campaign issue. Back in March, he told the Times, “Did I meet with people that were Russian? I’m sure, I’m sure I did. But none that were set up. None that I can think of at the moment. And certainly none that I was representi­ng the campaign in any way, shape or form.”

Actually, this meeting was set up, and he was representi­ng the campaign in every way, shape and form.

Biggs calls all this — and many other now provably false denials by the White House — “smoke on a wet log.”

But who’s really blowing smoke here?

Loyalty is one thing. But members of Congress, like Biggs, swear an oath to the Constituti­on. Not to Donald Trump.

Perhaps the congressma­n should have a little chat with the Arizona delegation’s senior member.

Sen. John McCain’s comment on the Trump Jr. incident was: “As I’ve said many times in the past, there’s another shoe that will drop, and there are other shoes that will drop.”

He added that neither his campaign people nor his sons would meet with Russians looking to pass on dirt.

“My sons are in the military; they’d be court-martialed,” McCain said.

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