President Trump’s skepticism of Russia’s role in Eastern Ukraine and his willingness to take up for Russian President Vladimir Putin are prime examples of how the Kremlin’s influence in the Trump administration "would play out," Sen. Chris Murphy Christopher (Chris) Scott MurphyGOP chairman to release interim report on Biden probe 'in about a week' This week: House returns for pre-election sprint Battle over timing complicates Democratic shutdown strategy MORE (D-Conn.) said Tuesday.

“This is as scary as it gets, and the intelligence committees in the House and the Senate need to get to the bottom of what this is all about,” Murphy said on CNN.

“What is this strange relationship between Putin and Trump, and is there something the Russians have on him that is causing him to say these really bizarre things on an almost daily basis?” he continued.

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Murphy suggested that Trump’s hints at lifting sanctions against Russia and his efforts to create “moral equivalences” between Kremlin-sanctioned political assassinations and U.S. military activities indicate a suspicious relationship between Trump and the Russian president.

“Listen, if you want to believe the worst here, if you want to believe that Putin is literally pulling the strings of this administration, then this is exactly how it would play out,” Murphy said.

In an interview with Fox News host Bill O’Reilly aired on Sunday, Trump reaffirmed his stance that “it's better to get along with Russia than not.” When O’Reilly pressed him on that statement and whether he thought Putin was a “killer,” Trump fired back that the U.S. has “got a lot of killers.”

“What, you think our country is so innocent?” Trump said.

Trump has long been criticized by Democrats and Republicans for his willingness to cooperate with Russia, and has alleged reluctance to take a harder stance on the country. He has also routinely questioned reports by the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election in his favor.