“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,” Mnuchin, who is Jewish, said in a statement released by the Treasury Department…

“We know you are better than this, and we are counting on you to do the right thing,” said the open letter circulated Friday.

Mnuchin referenced the views of his Yale classmates and others in his defense of Trump on Saturday and said that “as someone who is Jewish, I believe I understand the long history of violence and hatred against the Jews (and other minorities) and circumstances that give rise to these sentiments and actions.”