Trump Says ‘No Reason To Believe’ Russia Hacked US Election

Democrats had called on Trump to scrap the meeting in Finland and not give Putin legitimacy on the heels of the announcement of new indictments in the special counsel probe investigating Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election and Russian contacts with members of Trump’s campaign team.

Mr Trump responded by tweeting that he had “great confidence in my intelligence people”, adding: “I also recognise that in order to build a brighter future, we can not exclusively focus on the past – as the world’s two largest nuclear powers, we must get along”.

He added that he had spent a great deal of time talking to Putin about the accusations of election meddling, but that he had “no reason to believe” that President Putin’s government had interfered with the USA presidential campaign in 2016.

Lemire asked Trump whether he agreed with the nation’s intelligence community, which has concluded Russian Federation interfered in the 2016 elections, or Putin, who has repeatedly denied it. Lemire also asked whether Trump would denounce election meddling and warn Putin not to do it again, and asked Putin whether Russian Federation had gathered incriminating material on the American president.

“I go in with very low expectations”, Trump said yesterday on CBS News.

All of them were left in limbo by Mr. Trump’s.

“I think sometimes he forgets the fact that these intelligence agencies report and work for him”, Corker said.

The meeting was overshadowed in accounts from political analysts by the ongoing federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, which was brought to the fore on Friday with the indictment of 12 Russians by the US Department of Justice. He stood next to Putin and attacked domestic political rivals, the Justice Department, and the FBI for investigating what happened while ignoring questions over his own intelligence community’s assessment that Putin did, in fact, order a sophisticated influence campaign in states that ultimately decided the election outcome. “I think it’s a disgrace that we can’t get Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 e-mails”. Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating possible links between Trump campaign associates and Russian Federation as part of his probe into Moscow’s attempts to interfere in the 2016 election.

“We’ve known for years that the Russians routinely try and influence USA elections”, he said.

As he has done with many other foreign leaders, Mr Putin kept Mr Trump waiting, landing about an hour after his scheduled arrival time.

The more likely explanation is a United States president was just bent to Putin’s will.

“We’re not going to be able to mobilize anybody for anything after this unless he shows real toughness toward Russian Federation, which kind of undercuts the whole objective of going over there”, said James Jeffrey, a former USA ambassador to Iraq and Turkey and deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush.

They will also have to spin away the coincident arrest of a Russian woman in the USA on allegations Russia infiltrated the NRA – possibly with the aim to sway American politicians in favour of Russia and funnel money to Trump campaign. The taller Trump leaned forward in his chair, his forearms resting on his thighs and his hands connected by his fingertips as he appeared alongside with Russia’s leader.

And he did not say anything – leaving the floor to Putin. “But I will absolutely firmly ask the question”. But after being asked about that by his interviewer, Trump said “certainly I’ll be asking about it” although extradition is highly unlikely.

“The United States is not to blame”, Sasse said. During the press conference, Putin spoke first, and the first question went to a Russian reporter.

The former KGB agent scoffed at the notion that the Russian security services try to gather incriminating materials on business figures, saying: “Do you really believe that we try to shadow every businessman?” That includes Russia’s military incursions into Ukraine and Syria, the Iranian presence in Syria, Russian hostility toward USA allies, and renewing global arms control treaties. Rather than stand up for American investigatory independence, Trump hailed Putin’s offer – to have Russians interview Russians, to exonerate Russians – as a gracious one.

Furthermore, he said he holds “both countries responsible” for poor relations and said “the United States has been foolish”.

The two leaders finally met at the Finnish presidential palace in Helsinki as the U.S. president congratulated the latter for hosting the World Cup.

Trump began the day by firing a Twitter broadside at his domestic opponents, blaming the diplomatic chill on the investigation into alleged Russian election meddling.

Yet Trump’s stance has tilted public opinion, with Republicans becoming more favorable toward Russian Federation.

The closely-watched summit is not the first time the Russian and United States presidents have held talks.