Sen. Mark Warner Mark Robert WarnerIntelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings Overnight Defense: Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing l Air Force reveals it secretly built and flew new fighter jet l Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to 'forever chemicals' House approves bill to secure internet-connected federal devices against cyber threats MORE (D-Va.) said on Sunday that he doesn’t understand why President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE doesn’t realize that it’s illegal for a foreign nation to interfere in U.S. elections.

Warner during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" weighed in on a New York Times report that Donald Trump Jr. Don John Trump'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic requests pardon from Trump: 'Be my hero please' Zaid Jilani discusses Trump's move to cancel racial sensitivity training at federal agencies Trump International Hotel in Vancouver closes permanently MORE met with a Gulf emissary during the 2016 campaign who offered the help of the crown princes of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to have his father win the election.

“If the Times story is true, we now have at least a second and maybe a third nation that was trying to lean into this campaign,” Warner said.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner: “I don’t understand what the President doesn’t get about the law that says if you have a foreign nation interfere in an American election, that’s illegal” #CNNSOTU https://t.co/S3YJjqsPP6 https://t.co/IjJHNo4qMC — CNN (@CNN) May 20, 2018

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“And I don’t understand what the president doesn’t get about the law that says if you have a foreign nation interfere in an American election, that’s illegal,” he added.

The Times reported Saturday that Trump Jr. had met with the emissary, George Nader, at Trump Tower and that Nader had offered the assistance of the other countries to help the Trump campaign.

Trump Jr.'s lawyer told the Times in a statement that “prior to the 2016 election, Donald Trump Jr. recalls a meeting with Erik Prince, George Nader and another individual who may be Joel Zamel. They pitched Mr. Trump Jr. on a social media platform or marketing strategy. He was not interested and that was the end of it.”

While he said he wasn’t sure if the Times report was completely accurate, Warner told CNN the U.S. knew that Russia had interfered in the election “to not only sow disarray but to help Trump and hurt [Hillary] Clinton.”

“And that point was reconfirmed this week on a bipartisan basis by the Senate Intelligence Committee,” he added.

Warner is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which released a report last Wednesday finding that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump.