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Trump on Putin's denial of meddling in US election: 'I believe him' Trump says Russia investigation is dangerous, ‘Democrat-inspired hit job’
(about 3 hours later)
Donald Trump has said he believes Vladimir Putin spoke genuinely when the Russian president denied meddling in last year’s US election. Donald Trump said on Saturday he believes Vladmir Putin’s denials of Russian involvement in the manipulation of the 2016 presidential election.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight leaving from an international summit in Vietnam, Trump said the two world leaders had “two or three very short conversations”. After a brief meeting with the Russian leader on the margins of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Vietnam, Trump launched a tirade against the special counsel’s investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin.
Trump did not respond to a direct question on whether he believed Putin’s denial was accurate but then appeared to say he found the former KGB’s agents words convincing. Robert Mueller’s investigation could cost “millions and millions of lives”, Trump claimed, by hindering agreement with Moscow over conflicts in Syria and Ukraine and a looming confrontation with North Korea.
“He said he didn’t meddle. He said he didn’t meddle. I asked him again. You can only ask so many times. I just asked him again. He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election. He did not do what they are saying he did,” Trump said. The president’s remarks, made to reporters as Air Force One flew to Hanoi from Da Nang, represented his open disregard for the views of US intelligence agencies. They have concluded that Russia did interfere in multiple ways in the 2016 election, with the aim of helping Trump’s candidacy.
The president suggested he put more faith in Putin’s word.
“Every time he sees me he says ‘I didn’t do that’ and I really believe that when he tells me that,” Trump said. “He really seems to be insulted by it and he says he didn’t do it. He is very, very strong in the fact that he didn’t do it. You have President Putin very strongly, vehemently says he has nothing to do with that.”
The US president must grapple with the thorny issues of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as well as trade wars in Asia on one of the trickiest diplomatic tours in decades.The US president must grapple with the thorny issues of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as well as trade wars in Asia on one of the trickiest diplomatic tours in decades.
Trump warns of the North Korean threat and says Japanese orders for US-made military equipment will help keep Japan safe. Read moreTrump warns of the North Korean threat and says Japanese orders for US-made military equipment will help keep Japan safe. Read more
The North Korea rhetoric softens as the president suggests he is open to diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis. Read moreThe North Korea rhetoric softens as the president suggests he is open to diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis. Read more
Xi Jinping rolls out the red carpet for Trump, who lavishes praise on his host and blames his American predecessors for the 'huge' trade deficit between the US and China. Read moreXi Jinping rolls out the red carpet for Trump, who lavishes praise on his host and blames his American predecessors for the 'huge' trade deficit between the US and China. Read more
Trump swings through Da Nang for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting (featuring one Vladimir Putin), before flying to Hanoi for talks with Vietnam’s president about boosting economic and security cooperation.Trump swings through Da Nang for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting (featuring one Vladimir Putin), before flying to Hanoi for talks with Vietnam’s president about boosting economic and security cooperation.
US-Filipino relations have plummeted under President Rodrigo Duterte, who shares some populist and mercurial characteristics with his guest. The war on drugs and Islamic terror could join North Korea on the agenda.US-Filipino relations have plummeted under President Rodrigo Duterte, who shares some populist and mercurial characteristics with his guest. The war on drugs and Islamic terror could join North Korea on the agenda.
“Every time he sees me he says: ‘I didn’t do that,’ and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it. But he says: ‘I didn’t do that’,” he added, saying he believed the Russian president was “very insulted by it, which is not a good thing for our country”. The president described the investigation led by Mueller, a former FBI director appointed by Trump’s own justice department, as “Democrat-inspired” and a “hit job”.
Several US intelligence agencies have already concluded that Moscow meddled in the 2016 presidential election to try to help Trump win. Trump also claimed that the investigation was preventing a normalisation of relations with Putin and therefore could cost countless lives around the world. He suggested Russia was not helping more to persuade Pyongyang to disarm “because of the lack of the relationship that we have with Russia, because of this artificial thing that’s happening with this Democratic-inspired thing”.
A five-month investigation by the US special counsel Robert Mueller has been examining whether the president was compromised by a foreign power and if Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian agents. “I think [Putin] is very insulted by it, which is not a good thing for our country. Because again, if we had a relationship with Russia, North Korea which is our single biggest problem right now, it would help a lot,” he said.
The former foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous has pleaded guilty to perjury over his contacts with Russians linked to the Kremlin while the president’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and another aide face charges of money laundering. “You know you are talking about millions and millions of lives,” Trump said, adding that good relations with Moscow were also vital to resolving other conflicts.
Trump has repeatedly said that he does not believe Russia actively sought to help him. “When we can save many, many, many lives by making a deal with Russia having to do with Syria, and then ultimately getting Syria solved, and getting Ukraine solved, and doing other things, having a good relationship with Russia is a great, great thing. And this artificial Democratic hit job gets in the way. It gets in the way. And that’s a shame. Because people will die because of it, and it’s a pure hit job, and it’s artificially induced and that’s shame.”
On the plane on Saturday, the president also blamed Democrats for what he called an “artificial barrier” that he said prevented him from developing a better relationship with Putin. Trump met Putin briefly on three occasions at Da Nang, having scheduled no formal meetings with him during the summit. The two exchanged a jovial handshake at the gala dinner on Friday and stood next to one another in a “family photo” of leaders on Saturday.
Trump had scheduled no formal meetings with Putin during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, though the two exchanged a jovial handshake at the gala dinner on Friday and stood next to one another in a “family photo” of the leaders on Saturday. Putin dismissed accusations Moscow meddled in the US election as “fantasies” intended to undermine Trump. “Everything about the so-called Russian dossier in the US is a manifestation of continuing domestic political struggle,” Putin said.
Earlier, Putin had dismissed accusations that Moscow had meddled in the US elections as “fantasies” intended to undermine Trump. Putin was asked if he had followed the mounting investigation into alleged contacts between Trump’s campaign team and Russians, including a woman who claimed to be Putin’s niece.
“Everything about the so-called Russian dossier in the US is a manifestation of continuing domestic political struggle,” Putin said at the Apec summit. “Regarding some sort of connections of my relatives with members of the administration or some officials, I only found out about that yesterday from [his spokesman Dmitry] Peskov.”
“I don’t know anything about [the investigation],” he said. “I think these are some sort of fantasies.”
The two leaders produced a joint statement on Syria, restating their determination to defeat Islamic State and their desire for a United Nations-brokered solution.
“It’s going to save tremendous numbers of lives and we did it very quickly, we agreed very quickly,” Trump said.
The statement lists longstanding areas of agreement between the US and Russia on the importance of reviving mostly dormant UN-mediated negotiations known as the Geneva process, which envisages constitutional reform and free elections. In the past, Washington has disagreed with Moscow on how the process should be carried out and what role Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad would play.
Assad’s forces, with Russian and Iranian support, have been gaining ground over the past year. The Syrian president has consequently shown little real interest in a peace deal.
Asked if Russia would be able to bring Assad to the table, a state department official, quoted on CNN, said: “We’re going to be testing that, we’re going to find out.”
The story of Donald Trump and Russia comes down to this: a sitting president or his campaign is suspected of having coordinated with a foreign country to manipulate a US election. The story could not be bigger, and the stakes for Trump – and the country – could not be higher.The story of Donald Trump and Russia comes down to this: a sitting president or his campaign is suspected of having coordinated with a foreign country to manipulate a US election. The story could not be bigger, and the stakes for Trump – and the country – could not be higher.
Investigators are asking two basic questions: did Trump’s presidential campaign collude at any level with Russian operatives to sway the 2016 US presidential election? And did Trump or others break the law to throw investigators off the trail?Investigators are asking two basic questions: did Trump’s presidential campaign collude at any level with Russian operatives to sway the 2016 US presidential election? And did Trump or others break the law to throw investigators off the trail?
While a majority of the American public now believes that Russia tried to disrupt the US election, opinions about Trump campaign involvement tend to split along partisan lines: 73% of Republicans, but only 13% of Democrats, believe Trump did “nothing wrong” in his dealings with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.While a majority of the American public now believes that Russia tried to disrupt the US election, opinions about Trump campaign involvement tend to split along partisan lines: 73% of Republicans, but only 13% of Democrats, believe Trump did “nothing wrong” in his dealings with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.
The affair has the potential to eject Trump from office. Experienced legal observers believe that prosecutors are investigating whether Trump committed an obstruction of justice. Both Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton – the only presidents to face impeachment proceedings in the last century – were accused of obstruction of justice. But Trump’s fate is probably up to the voters. Even if strong evidence of wrongdoing by him or his cohort emerged, a Republican congressional majority would probably block any action to remove him from office. (Such an action would be a historical rarity.)The affair has the potential to eject Trump from office. Experienced legal observers believe that prosecutors are investigating whether Trump committed an obstruction of justice. Both Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton – the only presidents to face impeachment proceedings in the last century – were accused of obstruction of justice. But Trump’s fate is probably up to the voters. Even if strong evidence of wrongdoing by him or his cohort emerged, a Republican congressional majority would probably block any action to remove him from office. (Such an action would be a historical rarity.)
Former foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous pleaded guilty to perjury over his contacts with Russians linked to the Kremlin, and the president’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and another aide face charges of money laundering.Former foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous pleaded guilty to perjury over his contacts with Russians linked to the Kremlin, and the president’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and another aide face charges of money laundering.
The investigations have an open timeline.The investigations have an open timeline.
Putin was asked if he had followed the mounting investigation into alleged contacts between Trump’s campaign team and Russians, including a woman who claimed to be Putin’s niece. Trump renewed his assault on the Mueller investigation at a time when it is making significant advances, each time a step closer to the president. His former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and a senior fundraiser have been indicted for money laundering and conspiring to defraud the authorities.
“Regarding some sort of connections of my relatives with members of the administration or some officials, I only found out about that yesterday from [his spokesman Dmitry] Peskov,” the Russian president said. Trump’s former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, is under investigation for his work for Turkish government interests and his Russian contacts. His lawyer on Friday denied a report that he had negotiations with Turkish representatives about kidnapping a dissident cleric living in the US.
“I don’t know anything about it,” he said. “I think these are some sort of fantasies.” A former Trump foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos, has pleaded guilty to perjury about his contacts with Russian surrogates and officials. Although he personally announced Papadopoulos’s hiring in March 2016, describing him as “an excellent guy”, the president has since the guilty plea was made public said he was a “young, low-level volunteer” who “few people knew”.
Earlier the Kremlin said Putin and Trump had agreed that there was no military solution to the conflict in Syria and a political resolution was needed. However, court papers show Papadopoulos was in frequent contact with senior campaign staff, mostly about plans to bring Trump and Putin together. He met a UK foreign office minister, Tobias Ellwood, at the UN in September 2016. The New York Times reported on Saturday that Papadopoulos helped edit a major foreign policy speech in April of that year, and that one of the officials he was in touch with was Stephen Miller, still one of Trump’s closest advisers.
Putin and Trump had agreed to continue joint efforts to fight Islamic State, the Kremlin statement said.
They confirmed their commitment to Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and called on all parties to the Syrian conflict to take an active part in the Geneva political process, it said.
Moscow and Washington agree that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict, according to the text of the joint statement published on the Kremlin’s website.