Tag Archives: Russia

The New York Times reports: President Vladimir V. Putin seemed to be in top form during a news conference in China on Tuesday, answering a question about President Trump by saying the American leader is “not my bride, and I am not his groom.” While the comment could be interpreted as a subtle jab by a macho Mr. Putin against …

Reuters reports: Russia’s foreign ministry has summoned a U.S. diplomat in Moscow to hand him a note of protest over plans to conduct searches in Russia’s trade mission complex in Washington, which should soon be closed, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. It said it has summoned Anthony F. Godfrey, a deputy chief of mission at the U.S. …

The Associated Press reports: Acrid, black smoke was seen pouring from a chimney at the Russian consulate in San Francisco Friday, a day after the Trump administration ordered its closure amid escalating tensions between the United States and Russia. Firefighters who arrived at the scene were turned away by consulate officials who came from inside the building. An Associated Press …

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday that the tense standoff between North Korea and the United States was on the verge of large-scale conflict and said it was a mistake to try to pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear missile program. “It is essential to resolve the region’s problems through direct dialogue involving all sides without advancing any …

The Daily Beast reports: Special counsel Bob Mueller has teamed up with the IRS. According to sources familiar with his investigation into alleged Russian election interference, his probe has enlisted the help of agents from the IRS’ Criminal Investigations unit. This unit—known as CI—is one of the federal government’s most tight-knit, specialized, and secretive investigative entities. Its 2,500 agents focus …

USA Today reports: The Trump administration retaliated Thursday against Russia’s expulsion of U.S. diplomats ordering the Russian consulate in San Francisco closed and reducing the number of Russians in the Washington, D.C., embassy and consulate in New York. The closures will need to happen by Saturday, the State Department said. Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the move brings the U.S. and …

Raw Story reports: A co-host on President Donald Trump’s favorite morning news show said on Thursday morning that it’s time to wind down special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade declared on Thursday that “six months is enough” time for Mueller to fully investigate the complex web of …

The Daily Beast reports: Documents disclosed this week show just how far former Trump Organization adviser and convicted felon Felix Sater will go to help his one-time business associate President Donald Trump. In emails released by The New York Times on Monday, Sater bragged to the president’s lawyer in 2015 that, with Kremlin help, “our boy can become president of …

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, has given Congress a point-by-point rebuttal of a dossier alleging that he has deep ties to Russian officials — an effort to clear his name as the Justice Department and congressional committees investigate Russia’s attempts to disrupt last year’s election. Mr. Cohen encouraged lawmakers to investigate those who …

Politico reports: The Senate Judiciary Committee has reached an agreement and set a date for Donald Trump Jr. to testify behind closed doors to the panel, the committee confirmed on Tuesday. The committee would not divulge the exact date, but another source familiar with the matter said the testimony would likely occur in the “next few weeks.” Trump Jr. is …

Politico reports: Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is pushing an amendment to severely curtail special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. DeSantis has put forward a provision that would halt funding for Mueller’s probe six months after the amendment’s passage. It also would prohibit Mueller from investigating matters that occurred before June 2015, when Trump launched …

NBC News reports: Federal investigators working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller are keenly focused on President Donald Trump’s role in crafting a response to a published article about a meeting between Russians and his son Donald Jr., three sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. The sources told NBC News that prosecutors want to know what Trump knew about …

ABC News reports: Four months into his campaign for president of the United States, Donald Trump signed a “letter of intent” to pursue a Trump Tower-style building development in Moscow, according to a statement from the then-Trump Organization Chief Counsel Michael Cohen. The involvement of then-candidate Trump in a proposed Russian development deal contradicts repeated statements Trump made during the …

The Washington Post reports: A top executive from Donald Trump’s real estate company emailed Vladi­mir Putin’s personal spokesman during the U.S. presidential campaign last year to ask for help advancing a stalled Trump Tower development project in Moscow, according to documents submitted to Congress Monday. Michael Cohen, a Trump attorney and executive vice president for the Trump Organization, sent the …

The Washington Post reports: While Donald Trump was running for president in late 2015 and early 2016, his company was pursuing a plan to develop a massive Trump Tower in Moscow, according to several people familiar with the proposal and new records reviewed by Trump Organization lawyers. As part of the discussions, a Russian-born real estate developer urged Trump to …

The New York Times reports: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis vowed on Thursday to help Ukraine stand up to Russian violations of its sovereignty and signaled that the Trump administration was considering providing defensive weapons to the Ukrainian military. President Barack Obama had resisted such a step, fearing it would be seen as a provocation by Russia. In the first visit …

CNN reports: Congressional investigators have unearthed an email from a top Trump aide that referenced a previously unreported effort to arrange a meeting last year between Trump campaign officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The aide, Rick Dearborn, who is now President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, sent a brief …

The Moscow Times reports: Russia’s media watchdog on Thursday said it had requested that a Russian internet provider suspend the Daily Stormer neo-Nazi website after it was previously blocked by U.S. tech firms. Roskomnadzor head Alexander Zharov told the Interfax news agency the watchdog had “asked” the Ru-center, the company that provided the Russian domain, to stop servicing the website. …

The Washington Post reports: Three days after Donald Trump named his campaign foreign policy team in March 2016, the youngest of the new advisers sent an email to seven campaign officials with the subject line: “Meeting with Russian Leadership – Including Putin.” The adviser, George Papadopoulos, offered to set up “a meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss …

Reuters reports: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday the risks of a military conflict over North Korea’s nuclear program are very high, and Moscow is deeply worried by the mutual threats being traded by Washington and Pyongyang. “Unfortunately, the rhetoric in Washington and Pyongyang is now starting to go over the top,” Lavrov said. “We still hope and …