Tag Archives: Vladimir Putin

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: 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 …

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 …

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 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 …

Raw Story reports: MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough suggested President Donald Trump is being blackmailed by Russian president Vladimir Putin. “Donald Trump, at some point in his life, has insulted everybody around him in the harshest of terms, including his own children,” Scarborough said. There is only one exception to Trump’s bullying and belligerence, he said. “The only person that I certainly …

The Associated Press reports: President Vladimir Putin has gone spearfishing in southern Siberia’s mountains, the latest stunt for the action man and adventure-loving Russian leader. Footage released Saturday by Russian state television stations showed Putin steering an inflatable boat and fishing bare-chested with a rod in a mountain lake, accompanied by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other officials. It also …

Reuters reports: Grand jury subpoenas have been issued in connection with a June 2016 meeting that included President Donald Trump’s son, his son-in-law and a Russian lawyer, two sources told Reuters on Thursday, in a sign that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is gathering pace. The sources added that Mueller had convened a grand jury in Washington to help investigate …

Tick tock tick tock: Special Counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington to investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. That’s a sign that his inquiry is growing in intensity and entering a new phase, the report said. Legal experts quoted by the newspaper say …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday blamed Congress for the current “very dangerous” relationship with Russia. The comments come on day after Trump signed legislation that imposes new sanctions on Russia. The bill — which was overwhelmingly approved by Congress — limits the president’s ability to lift sanctions on Russia or return diplomatic compounds seized by the Obama administration …

WOW. The Washington Examiner reports: On Wednesday, President Trump signed a new sanctions bill targeting Russia. Russia has reacted with unrestrained fury. Indeed, fury is an understatement. In a Facebook post specifically referencing Trump, the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (No. 2 only to Putin), warned that Congress sees Trump as “an incompetent player” who must be “liquidated”. Yes, you …

Politico reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is resisting the pleas of State Department officials to spend nearly $80 million allocated by Congress for fighting terrorist propaganda and Russian disinformation. It is highly unusual for a Cabinet secretary to turn down money for his department. But more than five months into his tenure, Tillerson has not issued a simple request …

Here’s the full text of the signing statement, which is apparently the second of two versions issued today: Today, I have signed into law H.R. 3364, the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.” While I favor tough measures to punish and deter aggressive and destabilizing behavior by Iran, North Korea, and Russia, this legislation is significantly flawed. In its haste …

ABC News reports: President Trump today signed a bill aimed at punishing Russia for its interference in the 2016 election despite his reservations to tighten sanctions against Moscow. The legislation was passed with rare and overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress last week. The bill limits the president’s ability to lift or waive sanctions against Russia and keeps in place sanctions …

The Associated Press reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says neither he nor President Donald Trump is “very happy” about new sanctions on Russia that Congress has voted to put in place. But he says the sanctions show that Americans are frustrated by Moscow, even though they want the U.S. to have a functional relationship with the nuclear-armed power. Tillerson …

The New York Times reports: President Vladimir V. Putin announced on Sunday that the American diplomatic mission in Russia would have to cut its staff by 755 employees, a response to the new American sanctions that escalated the tensions between Washington and Moscow. “Over 1,000 employees — diplomats and technical workers — worked and continue to work today in Russia; …

Agence France-Press reports: Russia’s foreign ministry on Friday announced counter measures in response to tough new sanctions proposed by the United States, ordering Washington to reduce its diplomatic staff. Moscow ordered the US to reduce its diplomatic presence in Russia to 455 diplomats and staff and also barred it from using a Moscow summer house and storage facility. It has …

Bloomberg reports: The U.S. House voted to strengthen sanctions against Russia and rebuked President Donald Trump, whose campaign is being investigated for possible ties to Moscow, by preventing him from unilaterally lifting penalties. The measure, which also would impose new sanctions on Iran and North Korea, passed the House Tuesday on a vote of 419-3. The bill now goes to …