The two leaders spoke at a joint news conference. Also, Trump no longer was speaking alongside Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, but addressing reporters from the White House alongside Republican lawmakers.
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Leon Panetta, who served as both Central Intelligence Agency director and secretary of defense in the Obama administration, told Newsweek said Coats’ role in the Trump Cabinet is critical.
He also said FBI agent Peter Strzok, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, former FBI director James Comey and former deputy director Andrew McCabe, all targets of Republican fire over the Russian Federation investigation, were “bad people, and they’re being exposed for what they are”.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters he was requesting a public hearing with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo next week on the administration’s Russian Federation policy following Trump’s meeting with Putin. “And I think we’re all to blame”. He was asked whether he holds Russian Federation accountable for “anything in particular”, Trump responded, “I hold both countries responsible”.
On Tuesday, Trump backtracked and said that he had meant to say why “wouldn’t” Russian Federation meddle in the election, not why “would” they.
He vowed to “repel” any future efforts to Russian Federation to interfere in American elections and democracy.
Top Republicans scrambled on Tuesday to distance themselves from Donald Trump’s behavior during his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. “I really think the world wants to see us get along”.
Trump’s repeated warm words for Russian Federation were a marked contrast from the past week when he repeatedly rebuked traditional US allies at a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and a visit to Britain. “We must consider they may try to do it again”.
Their opening one-on-one session had been scheduled to run 90 minutes. Trump, who repeatedly praised and deferred to Putin, was criticised by foreign policy and national security veterans as weak, an insult that is particularly galling to him. They met in private, with only translators present, but Schumer referred to notes that were taken in debriefings of the meeting.
At the summit, Trump appeared to favor Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial of Russian meddling over the assessment of US intelligence agencies that Russia did try to interfere. His Twitter feed is often littered with typos, and he frequently misspells “counsel” when rage-tweeting about the special counsel’s probe into Russian election interference.
House Speaker Paul Ryan talks with reporters Tuesday.
But faced with outrage at home, with even some of his political allies demanding that he reverse course, Trump – in an extraordinary postscript to the summit – sought to walk back his remarks. “This is the worst day of his presidency was yesterday”. At one point, he shot Putin a wink.
The New York Times devoted much of its front page to the story leading with the headline “Trump, with Putin, attacks 2016 intelligence” above a photograph of the two leaders shaking hands.
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Trump did not respond; Putin appeared to smirk.
