Sen. Chris Murphy Christopher (Chris) Scott MurphyDemocratic senator calls for 'more flexible' medical supply chain to counter pandemics The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Don't expect a government check anytime soon GOP chairman to release interim report on Biden probe 'in about a week' MORE (D-Conn.) on Thursday said “it strains credibility to believe that” President Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE was not aware of Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential race.

“It strains credibility to believe that Donald Trump didn’t know about this meeting given the fact that some of his closest advisers and family members were inside that meeting,” Murphy told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Murphy’s comments come after Trump in an interview with Reuters said he did not have knowledge of the meeting, which Trump Jr. reportedly attended after being promised harmful information about then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonJeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Momentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Warning signs flash for Lindsey Graham in South Carolina MORE.

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“No, that I didn’t know until a couple of days ago when I heard about this,” the president told Reuters when asked he if he knew of his son’s meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

Murphy during his television appearance Thursday argued there is no reason to believe Trump Jr.’s current account of the meeting because “he lied openly” before.

“He lied openly and repeatedly about his contacts with the Russian government,” said Murphy.

“And so I’m not sure why today we are all of a sudden willing to believe the story he is currently telling, which is that they met with this agent, that they didn’t get any good information.”

Trump Jr. in a July 2016 interview with CNN dismissed the suggestion that Russia had been behind a hack at the Democratic National Committee in an effort to help Trump's campaign.

The Intelligence Community earlier this year concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered an influence campaign aimed at helping Trump win the White House, while federal investigators in late 2016 linked the Kremlin to the hacks of Democratic political organizations.

“If he was lying about it for months and months beforehand, why do we believe that he’s all of a sudden telling the truth today?” Murphy asked.