Trump Goes Putin Way Over US 2016 Election Meddling, Calls US Intelligence Doubtful

HELSINKI: The Trump-Putin meet held in Helsinki here on Monday brought unwelcome results for the US citizens with US President giving a clean chit to Russian President Vladimir Putin by asserting that the collective conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies was falsely based in the claim that Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The public assertion by President Donald Trump regarding the denial by Russia regarding U.S. 2016 election meddling made an outright effect in Washington and around the globe as well and sent alarm bells ringing in many circles which was not limited to political ones. The meeting marked an extraordinary capstone to the first formal meeting between the two leaders representing the world’s top two nuclear powers.

 

The statement was made by President Trump during a 46-minute joint news conference inside the Finnish presidential palace. Trump sought to support Putin’s claim that the Russian government played no role in trying to sabotage the U.S. election, despite the clear fact that the Justice department’s accused on Friday of 12 Russian intelligence officers hacking all the Democratic emails as part of a broad subterfuge operation that led Trump to win the presidential election.

Trump further disapproved of the huge federal investigation of Russian interference by terming it as “a disaster for our country” and “a total witch hunt”. He argued that the probe, under the “foolish” American policies, had severely impaired relations between the two nations.

 

The summit proved to be fruitful for the Russian President Putin as it turned into a clear political victory for the Russian president. With this comes the easiness with which the President can implement his aim of expanding his country’s global influence by increasing discord within the United States and disrupting Western alliances.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, commented over the summit by calling it a “fabulous” and “better than super” as reported by Russian news agencies. And Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was snickering with exuberance as he was watching the summit conference from the sidelines.

The meeting between the two leaders was held closed doors with none allowed inside except their interpreters. After the meeting was over, Trump made his statements that went against his own intelligence agencies about Russia’s behavior.

The two leaders are very much focused on projecting dominance and machismo in their approach. But on Monday, Trump was seen waffled beside a stone-faced Russian President Putin and avoided a question by an Associated Press reporter when he asked whether he believes his country’s intelligence agencies or Putin, the president.

“They said they think it’s Russia,” Trump replied, referencing intelligence officials. “I have President Putin – he just said it’s not Russia.”

Trump added: “I will say this – I don’t see any reason why it would be . . . I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”

Trump rejected an invitation by the AP reporter, Jonathan Lemire, to give a warning to Russia’s Putin to never ever again interfere in a U.S. election.

And as Trump was looking on, Putin insisted to reporters that “the Russian state has never interfered and is not going to interfere into internal American affairs, including election process.”

Trump called Putin’s suggestion as an “interesting idea” when the latter said that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators could be allowed to come to Russia and question all the Russian suspects with the condition that the Russians too are allowed to do the same for U.S. intelligence agents that Moscow suspects of carrying out criminal activities on Russian soil. The investigation, as per the assertion needs to be cooperative one.

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