Politics: 'Lying is not a rookie mistake': Democrats condemn Trump Jr.'s emails about meeting for dirt on Clinton

Democratic senators accused the president's inner circle of colluding with the Russians to win the campaign after Donald Trump Jr. released his emails.

Donald Trump Jr. tweeted Tuesday what he claims is the full email correspondence between himself and the music publicist who allegedly arranged the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian attorney who reportedly promised dirt on soon-to-be Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Shortly after, Democrats lined up to criticize Trump Jr., who in the emails appeared to try to arrange an exchange of information with a lawyer he understood to be connected to the Russian government.

Republicans have largely stayed quiet on the latest Russia revelation involving President Donald Trump, instead focusing on postponing the August recess so they could try to pass their healthcare bill. No Republican senator has tweeted about it as of Tuesday afternoon.

Here is a roundup of Democratic senators' reactions to Trump Jr.'s emails:

As this story is still developing, we will add more reactions from lawmakers of both parties as they release statements.

Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat from Virginia and Hillary Clinton's running mate: "This should have set off alarm bells and red lights and instead what it seemed to do is it activated their salivary glands. ... This is just wheelbarrows full of new evidence for the special prosecutor and the Senate Intelligence Committee."

Sen. Ed Markey, Democrat from Massachusetts: "That proves that there was an attempt at collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign."

Sen. Brian Schatz, Democrat from Hawaii, called out Republicans for staying quiet on the emails.

Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat from Connecticut, amended an earlier tweet saying he would focus on healthcare this week.

Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat from Oregon: It's "no longer a question that the Trump campaign sought to collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert American democracy."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota: "The words speak for themselves."

Sen. Dick Durbin, Democrat from Illinois, accused Trump Jr. of violating federal law.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, Democrat from Oregon, called it "an effort to communicate, cooperate, and collude with the Russian government."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, Democrat from Vermont: "Special Counsel Mueller and Congress MUST sort through the shifting denials, changed stories and cascading lies about Trump team's contacts with Russia."

Sen. Martin Heinrich, Democrat from New Mexico, called Trump Jr. emails a "criminal conspiracy" and demanded Kushner's security clearance be reconsidered.

Sen. Mark Warner?, Democrat from Virginia, went on a Twitter rant: "This is black and white: Trump officials at the highest levels knew Russia was working to aid Donald Trump & welcomed Russia's interference."

Democratic senators accused the president's inner circle of colluding with the Russians to win the campaign after Donald Trump Jr. released his emails. Read Full Story