President Trump said he’d accept damaging information on political opponents in the 2020 election from a foreign power if the opportunity came up, and dismissed suggestions about contacting the FBI about possible interference in a US election.

“I think I’d take it,” the president told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos about a potential offer for dirt on a political opponent. “I’ve seen a lot of things over my life. I don’t think in my whole life I called the FBI.”

ABC News published the excerpt, part of a two-day interview with the president, on the same day that his son Donald Trump Jr. testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Trump Jr. has been at the center of questions surrounding a June 2016 meeting between members of the Trump campaign and Russian figures.



The meeting was prompted after Trump Jr. had been told in an email that the Russian government had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton as part of its “support” for the Republican candidate.

Russia’s interference in the 2016 election has prompted a series of congressional investigations, a special counsel investigation that stated it could not determine with confidence “that the president clearly did not commit a crime,” and an ongoing political battle that has marred Trump’s presidency.

Asked what he would do if the opportunity came up again, the president said he’d “take” the information from a foreign power and, after some prodding by Stephanopoulos, said he would “maybe” also contact the FBI.

“You don’t call someone from the FBI,” the president said. “You throw somebody out of your office, you do whatever you have to do.”