Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu calls Trump's comments on foreign meddling 'un-American' and 'unpatriotic'

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) was astonished by President Trump's public admission on Wednesday that if a foreigner offered information on a political opponent, he would take it.

"What Donald Trump said is un-American, unpatriotic, and unbelievable," Lieu told MSNBC's Chris Matthews. "The issue is not oppo research. You can take oppo research, you cannot take it from a foreign power. There is actually a law against this — the Federal Election Campaign Act says that candidates cannot knowingly take anything of material value from a foreign power."

Trump told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that he'd "maybe" go to the FBI with political dirt shared by a foreign power, but later said this wasn't something that warranted a phone called to the agency. All of this is proof, Lieu said, that "Donald Trump is selling America down for his own personal benefit."