'Scumbags organized around making money': California congresswoman calls Trump's inner circle the 'Kremlin clan'

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February 22, 2017 5:01 AM

"It's clear to me, and I just think the American people had better understand what’s going on," Rep. Maxine Waters of California said.

Rep. Maxine Waters on "All In with Chris Hayes."

Rep. Maxine Waters of California tore into President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet on Tuesday night, calling them the "Kremlin clan" for their alleged ties to Russia.

"This is a bunch of scumbags, that's what they are, who are all organized around making money," Waters said on "All In with Chris Hayes."

Waters also ripped attempts by the White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, to downplay a bombshell New York Times article on the Trump administration's potential associations with Russia. "Priebus has been trying to clean up for Donald Trump for far too long," Waters said, adding that the former Republican National Committee chairman stuck with Trump "when he was making outrageous statements, when he was basically lying."

"Time is going to run out," she said.

Waters then singled out nearly every member of Trump's inner circle, accusing them of having "deep ties to Russian oil and gas," and pointed specifically to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has a longstanding relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I believe that Tillerson's real job is to get in here and get those sanctions lifted," Waters said.

"It's clear to me, and I just think the American people had better understand what's going on," she said.

Several US intelligence agencies are conducting investigations into Russia's attempts to interfere in the US election. Though there so far has been no evidence of collusion between Trump and his associates and Russia, current and former US officials have said the parties have been communicating since before the November election.

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