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Article snippet: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, under fire from Yale classmates and Jewish critics of President Trump, strongly defended the president’s equivocating response to the racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Va., in a written statement this weekend. “I strongly condemn the actions of those filled with hate and with the intent to harm others,” Mr. Mnuchin said in a statement on Saturday. “They have no defense from me, nor do they have any defense from the president or this administration.” He continued, “While I find it hard to believe I should have to defend myself on this, or the president, I feel compelled to let you know that the president in no way, shape or form believes that neo-Nazi and other hate groups who endorse violence are equivalent to groups that demonstrate in peaceful and lawful ways.” His words marked perhaps the most vociferous defense of the president from anyone in the administration. Mr. Mnuchin, one of the most prominent Jews in the administration, issued the statement on Twitter in response to a letter signed by more than 300 of his 1985 classmates from Yale, urging him to step down immediately. “Rarely, if ever, have any of us made such a request of a classmate, whatever our differences in political opinion have been,” the group wrote in the letter. “We do so today because President Trump has declared himself a sympathizer with groups whose values are antithetical to those values we consider fundamental to our sacred honor as Ameri... Link to the full article to read more