Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith on Friday assailed the 'mind-boggling deception' by the Trump administration in explaining its role in the ongoing Russia investigation.

In a segment with his network colleague Chris Wallace, Smith was offering commentary about the latest revelations in the unfolding scandal.

He did not hold back when he spoke about the revelations that President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr, failed to disclose the fact that there were more participants in his June 2016 meeting with a Russian attorney who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Rinat Akhmetshin, a Russian-American dual national and former Soviet spy who became a lobbyist, was also at the meeting in Trump Tower attended by Trump Jr, then-campaign chair Paul Manafort, top adviser Jared Kushner, and Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya.

'The deception, Chris, is mind-boggling,' Smith told Wallace.

Smith's network is usually sympathetic to the Trump administration, however he has criticized the president multiple times in the past.

Smith continued: 'And there are still people who are out there who believe we're making it up. And one day they're gonna realize we're not and look around and go, Where are we, and why are we getting told all these lies?'

This is not the first time that Smith has aimed criticism at the Trump White House.

Shep Smith: "The deception, Chris, is mind-boggling...why are we getting told all these lies?"



Chris Wallace: "I don't know what to say" pic.twitter.com/DQKOAC8a2o — Leanne Naramore (@LeanneNaramore) July 14, 2017

Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith on Friday assailed the 'mind-boggling deception' by the Trump administration in explaining its role in the ongoing Russia investigation

The inconsistencies and revisions in Trump Jr's recollection of events outraged Smith, who went on a lengthy rant taking the administration to task for failing to be forthcoming

'And there are still people who are out there who believe we're making it up,' Smith said. 'And one day they're gonna realize we're not and look around and go, Where are we, and why are we getting told all these lies?'

Chris Wallace, at a loss for words, stared into the camera for a few moments before saying: 'I don't know what to say'

'LIE AFTER LIE': FULL TEXT OF SHEPARD SMITH'S COMMENTARY 'We’re still not clean on this, Chris [Wallace]. 'If there’s nothing there — and that’s what they tell us, they tell us there’s nothing to this and nothing came of it, there’s a nothingburger, it wasn’t even memorable, didn’t write it down, didn’t tell you about it, because it wasn’t anything so I didn’t even remember it — with a Russian interpreter in the room at Trump Tower? 'If all of that, why all these lies? Why is it lie after lie after lie? If you clean, come on clean, you know? 'My grandmother used to say when first we practice to — Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. 'The deception, Chris, is mind-boggling. And there are still people who are out there who believe we’re making it up. 'And one day they’re gonna realize we’re not and look around and go, Where are we, and why are we getting told all these lies?' Advertisement

In early March, angry viewers of Fox News tweeted that Smith should 'go to CNN' after he lambasted Trump for not releasing his tax returns.

Last month, Smith praised CNN - which has been the target of scorn from Trump and his supporters who view it as 'fake news' - for retracting a story about a Trump official who allegedly had ties to a Russian investment fund, according to Media Matters.

Just days after Trump was sworn in to office, Smith denounced the new president for failing to provide evidence for his claim that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton due to massive voter fraud, according to Business Insider.

In December 2015, as Trump was emerging as the lead candidate in the Republican primaries, Smith blasted him as 'representing the worst, darkest part of all that is America,' according to Mediaite.

Smith was reacting to some of Trump's more controversial policy proposals, including banning Muslims from the United States.

The inconsistencies and revisions in Trump Jr's recollection of events outraged Smith, who went on a lengthy rant taking the administration to task for failing to be forthcoming.

'We're still not clean on this, Chris,' Smith told Wallace on the air Friday.

'If there's nothing there - and that's what they tell us, they tell us there's nothing to this and nothing came of it, there's a nothingburger, it wasn't even memorable, didn't write it down, didn't tell you about it, because it wasn't anything so I didn't even remember it - with a Russian interpreter in the room at Trump Tower?

'If all of that, why all these lies? Why is it lie after lie after lie? If you clean, come on clean, you know?'

It was learned Friday that President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr (above), failed to disclose the fact that there were more participants in his June 2016 meeting with a Russian attorney who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton

Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin (background in glasses) was working with Natalia Veselnitskaya on an effort to kill the Global Magnitsky Act around the same time as the Trump Tower meet-up. He confirmed to the AP he attended the controversial get-together

Wallace, at a loss for words, stared into the camera for a few moments before saying: 'I don't know what to say.'

The Fox News Channel is widely considered to be the cable news outlet that is most sympathetic to Trump.

The president often retweets clips from Fox News programming, particularly Fox & Friends, and promotes appearances by his family members on the channel.

Its primetime stars, Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, have been vocal supporters of the president who have cast doubt on claims that the Trump campaign broke laws by maintaining contacts with Russian nationals during the election.

Smith and Wallace, however, have been critical of the administration in the past.

Donald Trump Jr faced damaging new claims on Friday that he lied about his meeting with a Russian lawyer, as an ex-Soviet intelligence officer revealed he was there too and claimed a trove of claims about Democrats and 'bad money' was handed over.

Akhmetshin - who U.S. intelligence think may still be a spy - told the Associated Press that he was part of the Trump Tower meeting with Don Jr.

Don Jr brought Jared Kushner, his brother-in-law who is now one of President Donald Trump's , and Paul Manafort, then the campaign chairman.

But on Friday Akhmetshin and other sources revealed stunning new details about the meeting which put Don Jr on the ropes.

Akmetshin's disclosure of being there blew apart Don Jr's claim on Tuesday to have told 'everything' there was to say about the meeting - because the president's son had only admitted to the presence of Veselnitskaya.

Then Akhmetshin, a former Soviet military intelligence officer, piled on the pressure with a bombshell claim that Veselnitskaya had brought a plastic folder full of printed documents which contained claims of the Democratic National Committee receiving dirty Russian money.

NBC News reported Friday morning that Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian attorney who met with Donald Trump Jr and campaign aides, was accompanied by a man with ties to Russian intelligence, something the individual has denied

PR executive Rob Goldstone emailed Donald Trump Jr to set the controversial meeting up. He confirmed to the Associated Press that he participated in the gathering. Next to be revealed to be there was interpreter Anatoli Samochornov (right)

Off course: Donald Trump returned to the U.S. and went to the U.S. Women's Open Championship at his Bedminster golf course on Friday, while his administration faced crisis

Grip and grin: Jared Kushner was at the meeting too. His presence kicked off the whole affair because he disclosed it in his security clearance forms

That directly contradicted Don Jr's account that no information had been received from the visiting Russians.

Don Jr was uncharacteristically silent on twitter as disclosure followed disclosure.

In contrast his brother-in-law Jared Kushner was grinning and relaxed as he and his wife Ivanka mingled with media moguls at Sun Valley in Idaho.

Democrats are beginning to seize on the claims with Bernie Sanders telling an Associated Press reporter: 'These are very, very, very serious allegations.'

He added that there should not be a rush to judgment.

The most damage of the day was done to Don Jr's credibility.

As well as the disclosure that documents were left, the list of who was in the meeting grew, with portly British PR Rob Goldstone admitting to the Associated Press that he was in the room, and a New York Times reporter revealing on MSNBC that there was also an interpreter present.

Anatoli Samochornov, a US citizen who has worked for Veselnitskaya for some time was with him, reporter Ken Vogel said.

There could have been even more people there as CNN reported that there was an associate of pop star Emin present. Emin is the son of Aras Agalarov, the billionaire friend of Vladimir Putin and CNN said a representative of the Agalarov family was there.

Trump Jr never noted the presence of any individuals outside the campaign's senior officials - Kushner and Manafort - and the lawyer, Veselnitskaya.