Following a day of discussions between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, Mr. Trump left Monday’s summit neglecting to hold Putin accountable for Russia’s role in interfering in the 2016 presidential election — saving most of his criticism for America itself. “I hold both countries responsible. I think that the United States…
President Trump took aim at another Western institution just days before his high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with “CBS Evening News” anchor Jeff Glor in Scotland on Saturday, President Trump named the European Union when asked to identify his “biggest foe globally right now.” In the CBS News interview, Mr.…
The Senate Intelligence Committee strongly backed the finding by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, ultimately intending to help Donald Trump win. The Senate committee said on Tuesday that that during its review, it was consistently told that intelligence analysts were under “no…
Russia announced Thursday that it will expel 150 diplomats, including 60 Americans, and close the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg. The move comes after Western nations banded together in solidarity with the U.K. over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in southern England earlier this month. The 60 expelled…
President Donald Trump reportedly told his top national security aides to not publicly tout a new U.S. lethal defensive weapons sale to Ukraine, for fear of angering Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to NBC News, it took “months” for those aides to convince the president to sign off on the sale to Ukraine’s military, which…
The U.K. on Friday said it is “overwhelmingly likely” that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the poisoning of an ex-spy, upping the ante against Russia as Moscow warned it was prepared to escalate a standoff with the West. Foreign Minister Boris Johnson’s comments mark the first time that the U.K. has specifically linked the Russian…
Twenty-three Russian diplomats will be expelled from the U.K. after Russia failed to meet a midnight deadline to disclose details of the nerve agent that is suspected to have been used to poison a former spy on British soil. Speaking in the British Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Theresa May said Russia offered “complete disdain”…
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has evidence that a Seychelles meeting between Erik Prince and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely an early attempt to establish a secret line of communication between the U.S. and Russian governments, The Washington Post reports. Prince, the founder of Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos,…
Vladimir Putin used his annual state of the nation address to boast that Russia has developed “invincible” nuclear weapons that can “reach anywhere in the world.” Speaking in Moscow 17 days before an election that he’s expected to win convincingly, the Russian president on Thursday unveiled a weapon that he said could not be stopped…
The two leaders stared deep into each other’s eyes as they shared a long, intimate handshake amid the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam while wearing matching outfits. It’s tradition for world leaders to wear traditional garb for the “family photo” at the APEC summit. Putin and Trump shake hands during group photo at APEC…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump are currently setting up their next meeting on Friday at an economic summit in Vietnam, according to the Kremlin. “Right now the time of the meeting is being agreed” for their face-to-face on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation leaders’ meeting, presidential aide, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters…
Russian President Vladimir Putin still has hope for improving relations with the United States under the leadership of President Trump, he said Tuesday. But Putin took issue with questions from reporters asking whether he was disappointed in the American president, calling it “naive” to ask. “He’s not my bride, and I’m also not his bride…
The Trump Organization was actively involved in discussions to develop a Trump Tower in Moscow while Donald Trump was running for president, The Washington Post reports. Citing several sources familiar with the matter and records reviewed by Trump Organization lawyers, the Post reports the discussions involved Russian-born real-estate developer Felix Sater, who at one point…
Glenn Simpson, whose firm compiled an infamous and salacious dossier about President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, told Senate investigators Tuesday that he “stands by” its findings. The private investigator and former reporter spent more than 10 hours being questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee after Chairman Chuck Grassley withdrew a subpoena when Simpson agreed…
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn sent an email referencing an individual who was trying to arrange a meeting between Trump campaign officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin last year, CNN reports, citing an email recovered by congressional investigators. In the email, Dearborn, who worked on the campaign, included “information about an individual…
President Trump on Thursday said he’s thankful to Russian President Vladimir Putin for expelling U.S. diplomats because now the U.S. government can save money on that payroll. “I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down our payroll and as far as I’m concerned I’m very thankful that he let go of a…
President Trump on Wednesday signed the bill placing additional sanctions on Russia, but expressed deep reservations about what he described as “significantly flawed” legislation. In an official statement, Trump wrote that the law includes “unconstitutional provisions” that would hinder his presidential authority on diplomatic matters. He also suggested Congress passed the bill “in haste” as…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday announced 755 members of the U.S. diplomatic mission to Russia will be expelled from his country. This reduces the number of American diplomats in Russia from about 1,210 to 455, putting the American delegation on par with the Russian diplomatic contingent in the United States. Putin’s announcement comes in…
The Russian government seized two U.S.-owned diplomatic properties Friday, hours after its foreign ministry ordered the U.S. to cut its diplomatic staff in the country by Sept. 1. The New York Times reports the Kremlin will cut off American access on Aug. 1 to a Moscow warehouse and a leafy enclave where U.S. staffers often…
On Tuesday, the House voted 419-3 to pass a bill that strengthens sanctions against Russia in response to its alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election. The sanctions primarily target Russian oil and gas projects with companies based in the United States and a handful of other countries, and will be difficult for President Trump…
President Trump may have met with Russian President Vladimir Putin more times than was previously reported at the G-20 summit in Germany earlier this month, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Trump and Putin shook hands and then had a scheduled bilateral meeting, both of which were shared with the press at the summit.…
Stephen Colbert ripped President Trump for having an undisclosed second meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit earlier this month. “Really?” Colbert asked. “How stupid can you be? You’re in the middle of what could be the worst scandal in U.S. history. People think you colluded with the president of a hostile…
President Trump decided within the last month to end a covert CIA program that armed and trained anti-government rebels in Syria, a move long sought by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ally Russia, U.S. officials told The Washington Post. The program began in 2013 as a way to put pressure on Assad to resign, and will…
Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. following his father’s Republican presidential nomination, said she is ready to testify before Congress in order to calm the “mass hysteria” surrounding the meeting. Trump Jr. agreed to meet with Veselnitskaya because he believed she had damaging information about then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, according…
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a second undisclosed meeting at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, earlier this month, the White House confirmed Tuesday. The conversation reportedly occurred at the dinner for heads of state, hours after the two leaders’ formal bilateral meeting. It reportedly lasted for an hour and Putin’s…
After tweeting on Sunday morning about “forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump on Sunday night declared that just because he “discussed a Cyber Security unit doesn’t mean I think it can happen.” Following his morning tweet, Trump was mocked by Democrats and Republicans alike, including Sen. Lindsey Graham…
President Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met for the first time in a highly anticipated encounter at the G20 conference in Germany. Trump and Putin discussed “various things” in a face-to-face meeting Friday that lasted nearly two hours longer than its scheduled 30 minutes. The President, speaking with reporters before the meeting, said there…
President Donald Trump has arrived in Hamburg, Germany on the eve of his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. World leaders are gathering in the city for a meeting of the Group of 20 economic powers. Trump spent the first half of the day in Poland, delivering a speech and holding a joint press…
“Getting ready to leave for Poland, after which I will travel to Germany for the G-20,” President Trump tweeted early Wednesday, before taking off for his second trip abroad. “Will be back on Saturday.” The White House is expecting a warm reception for Trump in Poland, where he will give a speech in Warsaw’s Krasinski…
Top officials in Syria and at the Kremlin dismissed the White House’s accusations late Monday that Bashar al-Assad’s regime appears to be preparing another chemical attack on civilians. Ali Haidar, Syria’s minister for national reconciliation, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s charges were just part of a new diplomatic campaign against…
