Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Tuesday said that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin "had something" on President Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE, suggesting the Russian leader holds leverage that could account for some of Trump's statements.

The senator called statements made by the president about his son's 2016 Trump Tower meeting to get dirt on Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhat Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Bipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE “plainly false.”

In an appearance on CNN's "New Day," Blumenthal asserted that false statements made by the president were in fact made at the behest of Putin in order to conceal the Trump campaign's contact with the Russian source.

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"The fact is, Putin had something on him," Blumenthal said. "Which may be a reason why he issued a statement about the Trump Tower meeting that was plainly false. Why [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's] testimony may well be false insofar as he's saying that 'I didn't tell my father [about the meeting].' "

“Lying to the American people may not be itself breaking the law. But if it’s part of a conspiracy, if it's part of aiding and abetting other actions ... We need to see the full special counsel report, and all that he knows," the senator added.

“It smacks of illicit behavior,” @SenBlumenthal says about Rudy Giuliani on Trump Tower Moscow project.



“Lying to the American people may not be itself breaking the law. But if it’s part of a conspiracy...We need to see the full special counsel report.” https://t.co/rIoSqCPZuL pic.twitter.com/ROIh6d8wfq — New Day (@NewDay) January 22, 2019

Blumenthal's comments come just days after another Democrat, Rep. Ilhan Omar Ilhan OmarDemocrats scramble on COVID-19 relief amid division, Trump surprise Larry Kudlow defends response to coronavirus: Trump 'led wisely' The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Woodward book revelations rock Washington MORE (Minn.) was challenged on CNN after she made a similar suggestion about Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), who she argued was "somehow compromised" due to his newfound support of the president.

"He is somehow compromised to no longer stand up for the truth and to make sure he is fighting to protect the oath he took in serving the American people," Omar said of Graham, adding that it was "just an opinion based on what I believe to be visible to me."

The 2016 Trump Tower meeting and subsequent statements referring to it have reportedly become a central peg of the special counsel investigation, which has examined the meeting between Trump Jr., Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortOur Constitution is under attack by Attorney General William Barr Bannon trial date set in alleged border wall scam Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE, Jared Kushner Jared Corey KushnerAbraham Accords: New hope for peace in Middle East Tenants in Kushner building file lawsuit alleging dangerous living conditions Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing MORE and a Russian lawyer who promised compromising information on Clinton for possible links to Russia's election interference efforts that year.