As the fallout continues from President Trump’s meeting Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, two candidates for the 8th Congressional District and the man who previously held the job are speaking out.

Trump's embrace of Putin and questioning of American intelligence findings of Russian election meddling has Republicans joining Democrats in condemning the President’s decision to side with a longtime foe on foreign soil over his own government.

One of those speaking out was former Congressman Mike Rogers, a Republican who represented the 8th District for 14 years. In a statement on Facebook, the former head of the House Intelligence Committe stated that, "The President's assertion that status U.S.-Russia relations is due to "U.S. foolishness" is fundamentally wrong." He then said Russia has, "Waged continuous & increasingly aggressive cyberattacks against us, Interfered in our 2016 elections, Annexed Crimea, Shot down a civilian airliner, Supports Assad in Syria, Invaded our ally Georgia, Murdered opponents in London" and concluded by asking; Should I continue?"

Democrat Elissa Slotkin is seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Mike Bishop in November. A national security expert who served as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense, Slotkin said she never thought she’d, “see the day when the Commander in Chief would side with Russia over his own Intelligence and Law Enforcement Community” and called on Congressman Bishop, “to stand up publicly, with members of both parties, and make clear to President Trump that you can't and won’t support him putting the interests of Russia over our own security."

Bishop did issue a statement, saying that “Open diplomatic communication between nuclear superpowers is essential for the safety and security of the world. Lest anyone think otherwise, however, Vladimir Putin’s Russia is not a trusted friend of the United States. The House Committee on Intelligence, along with our American intelligence community, have demonstrated Russia’s efforts to undermine democracy here in the United States and across the world. We must hold Russia accountable.” (JK)