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U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today minced no words about Donald Trump, Jr.'s coordination with a member of the Russian government in June 2016, calling it an attempt to "collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert America's democracy."
Wyden's strong language matches comments other U.S. senators have made on the revelation that President Donald Trump's son met with a Russian businessman on the promise that a senior Russian official could provide dirt that would damage the Clinton campaign.
Donald Trump, Jr. tweeted his emails with one of his father's former business partners after The New York Times reported Trump, Jr. knowingly met with Russians during the 2016 campaign.
Responding to the promise of intelligence from a Russian government official, Trump, Jr. emailed: "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."
The revelation of the emails and subsequent meeting led some lawmakers and legal experts to use words like "collusion" and "treason." Some legal experts have said that Trump, Jr.'s actions may have violated a U.S. law barring any foreign national to provide anything of value to influence an American election.
Wyden has for eight months been a leading voice on Capitol Hill calling for answers about the links between Trump's campaign and Russia.
Related: Oregon's senior senator says it's the money that could link the president to Moscow.
In the hours after today's bombshell emails, Wyden called the scandal a pivotal moment for the nation.
"Based on the emails that Donald Trump, Jr., released, the highest levels of the Trump campaign walked, eyes open, into a meeting designed to advance the Russian government's support for Donald Trump," Wyden said in his statement on the tweeted emails. "These emails show there is no longer a question of whether this campaign sought to collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert America's democracy. The question is how far the coordination goes.
"It is now up to elected officials of both parties to stand up and do their duty: protect and defend the constitution."