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Updated | When news broke this week that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort met with a Russian lawyer last year in hopes of digging up dirt on Hillary Clinton, they joined an ever-expanding club: People who met with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign yet who claimed they did not. But for now, Vice President Mike Pence is keeping Americans in the dark as to whether he, too, is a member.

PencespokesmanMarc Lotterrepeatedly refused to answer questions on the subject Wednesday in an interview with Fox NewssBill Hemmer. Hemmer bluntly asked Lotter three times whether the vice president had ever met with Russian representatives, and each time he dodged the subject.

Related: Is Mike Pence the next president?

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At first, Lotter insisted Pence was not focused on the areas where, you know, on this campaign, especially things that happened before he was even on the ticket,referring to the fact that Trump Jr.s Russia meeting took place June 9 and Pence didnt join the campaign until July 15. When Hemmer next pressed him, Lotter said, That stuff, the special prosecutors and the counsels are all looking at.

Hemmer then demanded a yes-or-no answer.

Im not aware of anything that I have seen,Lotter responded. All the focus that I saw with Vice President Pence during the campaign and since then has been focused on working the agenda that the people sent him to Washington to accomplish.

Lotters non-answer answers were circulating Thursday morning on Twitter, where they caught the attention of journalists including CNNsJim Acosta and The New York Timess Jonathan Martin. Many brought up the fact that Pencesaid flatly in January that of coursethe Trump campaign did not have any contact with Kremlin officials whomeddled in the U.S. election, dismissing reports to the contrary as bizarre rumors.

Isnt it telling that now even Mike Pences people will not say he did not meet with Russians, after Mike Pence in January said, Of course, we never met with Russians, we were meeting with the American people?MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said on his show Thursday.

People have been watching Pence this week in the wake of the Trump Jr. scandal because the vice president is next in the line of succession should Donald Trump Sr. be impeached. (Its unlikely, but thats a whole other story.)

In a statement released Tuesday, Pence seemed to put space between himself and the campaign, saying he wasnt aware of the June 9 meeting and was unconcerned with stories about Trump aides before he joined the ticket. But officials and sources close to Pence have fought back, saying he wasnt trying to separate himself from Trump Sr.

Theres absolutely no distance between the president and the vice president,deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Wednesday. I dont know if theyve spoken directly about this, but I know theyve spoken today.

An earlier version of this article included an incorrect spelling ofMarc Lotter's last name.

Originally posted here:
Did Mike Pence Meet With Russia Too? His Spokesman Keeps Dodging the Question - Newsweek