“We now need Donald Trump to explain to us the extent to which the hand of the Kremlin is at the core of his own campaign,” Robby Mook said. | Getty Clinton campaign manager calls Trump a Kremlin puppet

The campaign manager for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Robby Mook, faced tough questions on Sunday about the Clinton Foundation’s decision to stop taking corporate and foreign donations if Clinton wins the White House.

Mook’s response: Dodge the questions and go on offense, accusing Republican rival Donald Trump of being a Kremlin puppet.


On ABC’s "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," the host pressed Mook on why it was OK for the Clinton Foundation to accept corporate and foreign donations when she was secretary of state but not if she becomes president.

Mook provided no clear answer and instead raised questions about Trump’s own financial dealings.

“Donald Trump is refusing to disclose deep financial ties that potentially reach into the Kremlin, which could influence his foreign policy decisions,” Mook said. “None of this is being disclosed.”

Earlier on the show, he said there were “real questions being raised about whether Donald Trump himself is just a puppet for the Kremlin in this race.”

“I would also point out that Paul Manafort has been pushed out, but that doesn’t mean that the Russians have been pushed out of this campaign,” Mook added, pointing to Trump’s criticisms of NATO. “We now need Donald Trump to explain to us the extent to which the hand of the Kremlin is at the core of his own campaign.”

Manafort resigned from his position as campaign chairman, Trump announced Friday.

Mook’s appearance comes amid a number of calls for the Clinton Foundation to shut down if Clinton wins the White House, including a Boston Globe editorial that said it was an obvious conflict of interest during her tenure at the State Department.

Mook indicated that the foundation would “continue to operate.”

“Millions of people around the world depend on life-saving health treatments that the foundation would provide,” he said.