Damage Control...

[Cebu_4_2]

Lights go out during Trump speechhttps://www.9news.com.au/videos/world/cjjq476n9001w0go4tnf728u1/trump-backflips-on-intelligence-community-comments

[Cebu_4_2]

Trump says misspoke on Russian meddling
7:32am Jul 18, 2018
US President Donald Trump has tried to calm a storm over his failure to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for meddling in the 2016 US election, saying he misspoke in a joint news conference in Helsinki.

Trump stunned the world on Monday by shying away from criticising the Russian leader for Moscow's actions to undermine the election and cast doubt on US intelligence agencies.

"I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't,'" Trump told reporters at the White House, more than 24 hours after his appearance with Putin.

"The sentence should have been, 'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia.'"

Trump, who was given numerous opportunities to publicly rebuke Putin during the news conference in Helsinki, instead praised the Russian leader for his "strong and powerful" denial of the conclusions of US intelligence agencies that the Russian state meddled in the election.

Standing alongside Putin in Helsinki, Trump told reporters he was not convinced it was Moscow.

"I don't see any reason why it would be," Trump said.

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Although he faced pressure from critics, allied countries and even his own staff to take a tough line, Trump said not a single disparaging word in public about Moscow on any of the issues that have brought relations between the two nuclear powers to the lowest ebb since the Cold War.

Republicans and Democrats accused him of siding with an adversary rather than his own country.

Mainly reading from a prepared statement, Trump on Tuesday said he had complete faith in US intelligence agencies and accepted their conclusions.

But he appeared to veer from his script to also hedge on who was responsible for the election interference.

"It could be other people also - there's a lot of people out there," he said.

Democrats dismissed Trump's statement as political damage control.

"This has to be recognised for what it is, which is simply an effort to clean up the mess he made yesterday, which is beyond the capacity of any short statement to repair," said Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee.

The political firestorm over his performance in Helsinki has engulfed the administration and spread to his fellow Republicans, eclipsing most of the frequent controversies that have erupted during Trump's turbulent 18 months in office.

Several senators from both parties backed tougher sanctions on Russia. McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who called Russia's government "menacing," said their chambers could consider additional sanctions on Russia.

US intelligence agencies concluded last year that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election campaign and sought to tilt the vote in Trump's favour, which Moscow has denied.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating that allegation and any possible collusion by Trump's campaign.

Trump has denied collusion and casts Mueller's probe as a witchhunt that aims to detract from his election victory.

Russia's political and media establishment heralded the summit as a victory for Putin in breaking down Western resolve to treat Russia as a pariah.

[EE_]

I believe Trump 100%
I know he wouldn't have said there is no reason why Russia "would" meddle, on purpose. Everyone knows everyone is meddling, even the US.
It was an honest mistake.

I am glad we got to see who never really supported Trump, many on Fox News and Republicans. Anyone that would turn on him this quickly, without giving him the benefit of the doubt, or hearing the man out, never really supported him in the first place.

[Cebu_4_2]

Enough to impeach?

[Cebu_4_2]

Trump meets Putin and the fallout accomplishes the politically impossible – Helsinki unites GOP, Democrats

Fallout from Trump's face-to-face meeting with Putin (http://video.foxnews.com/v/5809975504001/fallout-from-trumps-face-to-face-meeting-with-putin)

President Trump holds historic summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'

“Shameful.” “Disgraceful.” “A bad day for the U.S.” “The most serious mistake of his presidency.” That was how senior Republicans characterized the joint press conference Monday by President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki at the end of their summit.

The press conference appears to have accomplished the politically impossible. President Trump’s stunning endorsement of Putin’s denial of Russian meddling in the 2016 American election – contradicting the unanimous finding of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies – not only shocked Republicans, it spurred many of them for the first time in Trump’s presidency to join Democrats in criticizing him.

No one knows what the two leaders said – or may have agreed upon – in their two-hour, closed-door, one-on-one meeting. And yes, President Trump was right in asserting that there was nothing inherently wrong in meeting Putin. Efforts to improve U.S.-Russian cooperation on fighting terrorism and stopping the spread of nuclear weapons should be encouraged.


But President Trump’s statements Monday were not only highly problematic; they were a dangerous acquiescence to Putin that may have emboldened the Russian president and enhanced Russia’s place in the modern world. As such, the press conference – or the “surrender summit” as one critic called the Helsinki meeting – could be a defining moment in the Trump presidency.

At their joint press conference, President Trump made several critical errors.

First, there were the visuals. Putin seemed totally in control, whereas Trump lacked focus and authority, dodging questions and praising Putin when he should have been condemning him for Russia’s most egregious actions – the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and meddling in the last U.S. presidential election.

Second, rather than confront Putin about his election interference – as Trump had vowed twice to do, most recently in London – the U.S. president backed up the Russian leader point-after-point, especially on the meddling allegations.

When asked whether he believed Putin’s denial of interference in the election despite the U.S. intelligence community’s unanimous assessment to the contrary, President Trump referenced his defeat of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and questioned why the FBI still did not have her server.

Even more stunning was President Trump’s assertion that he did not see “any reason why” Putin would interfere in America’s election, effectively siding with Russia’s leader over U.S. intelligence analysts.

National Intelligence Director Dan Coats quickly shot back, calling the U.S. intelligence finding “fact-based.” “We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy,” Coats said, directly contradicting his commander-in chief.

Appearing ill-prepared and flummoxed by questions from reporters, President Trump fell back on his oft-repeated accusation that the FBI had failed to investigate thoroughly the rival he had defeated. At one point, the president even cited, erroneously, the Electoral College tallies from almost two years ago.

The American president seemed more interested in defending the legitimacy of his election than in protecting America’s national security interests.

Third, President Trump erred in asserting that the U.S. and Russia were both responsible for their troubled relations. He insinuated that America’s foreign policy missteps were the moral equivalent of Russia’s egregious conduct for over a decade, including: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea; its shooting down of a civilian airliner; its aggressive behavior towards NATO allies Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the Baltics; and its poisoning of a former Russian spy and murder of a British civilian in Britain by using a deadly nerve agent, Novichok.

Some of President Trump’s statements were simply baffling. Despite the U.S. and Russia backing different sides in the Syrian conflict, Trump suggested that he and Putin would soon begin working together to bring humanitarian aid to the Syrian people. This ignored the fact that Putin and his ally – Syrian dictator Bashar Assad – are largely to blame for the need for such humanitarian aid.

Equally mindboggling was President Trump’s agreement to consider Putin’s proposal that Russia and the U.S. work together to bolster cyberdefenses – the foreign policy equivalent of inviting the fox into the hen house to safeguard the eggs.

The response to Helsinki was instant and harsh. Democrats and Republicans alike complained that President Trump’s unwillingness to confront Russia had weakened the Western alliance and would encourage further Russian incursions into the territory of other sovereign nations. Putin now knows that Trump intends to give him a pass.

Most disturbing was President Trump’s unwillingness to support his intelligence agencies in their finding of Russian meddling. For a sitting U.S. president to say publicly that he believes a foreign leader more than his own intelligence team shocked many on both sides of the aisle.

Ailing Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., – a frequent Trump critic – tweeted that the president had “abased himself” before a “Russian thug.” McCain said Trump had given “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.”

“The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate,” McCain said.
Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska called President Trump’s statements “bizarre and flat-out wrong.”

The president’s ravings were too much even for outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. “Russia is not our ally,” Ryan responded. “There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals.”

Republican stalwart and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich called Trump’s performance “the most serious mistake of his presidency.”

Among Republicans, Trump had few defenders. Only his faithful Veep, Mike Pence, praised the summit performance, and Senator Rand Paul -- in a tweet.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and Senate minority leader, pleaded with Republicans to put aside partisanship and condemn what he called President Trump’s “insult to all Americans.” He urged Republicans to join Democrats in refusing to water down sanctions against Russia and asked them to call the chiefs of U.S. intelligence agencies before Congress to describe what they had told Trump before his meeting with Putin.

Schumer also urged President Trump to sit down with Special Counsel Robert Mueller so that Mueller could finish his inquiry into Russian election meddling. And Schumer urged Republicans to demand that President Trump insist that the 12 Russians intelligence officers indicted for hacking and other meddling on Friday be brought to the U.S. to stand trial.

Several times on Monday, Trump refused to make that demand. In an interview with Sean Hannity (http://video.foxnews.com/v/5810043141001/?#sp=show-clips) of Fox News, the president even expressed interest in Putin’s vague suggestion that Mueller’s team travel to Moscow to work with Russian security officials to investigate the Russian agents who were indicted in the U.S. for meddling.

How Republicans will respond to Democratic appeals for solidarity in the name of American national security is unclear. Thanks to the robust economy, the president’s popularity among Republican voters is strong and has been rising.

But at a time when our democracy faces grave threats, it is more than troubling that President Trump would side with the very country that has attacked us. Judging from the initial reaction, his performance has unsettled even those who usually fear him.

Ultimately, however, doing more than merely criticizing is vital to protecting American national interests. President Trump – and America, for that matter – can only win against Putin if we are assertive of American goals and our values. President Trump failed to accomplish that Monday.

[Cebu_4_2]

Fox on the rebound


NORTH KOREA (http://www.foxnews.com/category/world/conflicts/north-korea.html)
1 hour ago

North Korea is said to be poised to return bodies of some 50 US vets soon: report

Families seek recovery of US remains from Korean War (http://video.foxnews.com/v/5803751465001/families-seek-recovery-us-remains-from-korean-war)

Secretary of State Pompeo is 'optimistic' U.S. will receive some remains from North Korea in 'not-too-distant future'; families of Americans missing in Korean War speak out on 'The Story.'

North Korea will return the remains of about 50 Americans killed during the Korean War over the next two weeks, the first set of repatriations since the recent summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, a report says.

A senior U.S. defense official said on Tuesday that the move will take place within two weeks, though the exact timing and number of those being returned remain uncertain, according to a Reuters report.

http://ib.3lift.com/static/buttons/adchoices.png (http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/07/17/north-korea-is-said-to-be-poised-to-return-bodies-some-50-us-vets-soon-report.html)
The development comes after a two-day meeting between U.S. and North Korean officials at the Demilitarized Zone. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the beginning of the discussions that “firm commitments” had been made to return the bodies to the U.S.

US, NORTH KOREA HOLD TALKS AT DMZ ABOUT RETURN OF KPREAN WAR VETERANS’ REMAINS (http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/07/15/us-north-korea-hold-talks-at-dmz-about-return-korean-war-veterans-remains.html)

During last month’s summit in Singapore, Trump said Kim had agreed to return the remains of “thousands and thousands” of Americans that had been killed from 1950 to 1953.

According to the report, Trump said that the remains of 200 servicemen had already been returned, but North Korea had not actually transferred the bodies.
More than 7,800 Americans have been unaccounted for since the Korean War.

[Cebu_4_2]

Trump says he misspoke on Russian meddling during press conference, accepts US intel findings

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/07/17/trump-says-misspoke-on-russian-meddling-during-press-conference-accepts-us-intel-findings.html

Trump: 'I accept' US intel conclusions on Russian meddling
President Trump says he has full faith and support for America's intelligence agencies.

President Trump said Tuesday that he misspoke when he seemed to dismiss allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, stating clearly that he accepts the U.S. intelligence community's conclusions as he sought to quell a bipartisan firestorm over his press conference with Vladimir Putin.

The president clarified his remarks during a meeting with lawmakers at the White House, in a rare backtrack.

In Helsinki a day earlier, Trump had said he doesn't "see any reason why" Russia would be behind election meddling. This and other comments led to bipartisan outrage and accusations that he was taking Putin's word over the intelligence community's.

But Trump said Tuesday he meant the opposite. He suggested he was surprised by the negative reaction when he returned to Washington.

"I came back and said 'What is going on, what’s the big deal?'” Trump said, adding that he reviewed the transcript and "realized that there is a need for some clarification."

The president told reporters that he meant to say he doesn't see why Russia "wouldn't" be responsible.

“I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't' ... sort of a double negative," he said.

It's unclear whether the clarification will calm the backlash in Washington, as Trump also said following his meeting with Putin that the Russian leader gave a "strong and powerful" denial. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., kept up his criticism Tuesday afternoon, tweeting: "President Trump tried to squirm away from what he said yesterday. It’s twenty-four hours too late, and in the wrong place."

But Trump sought to make clear Tuesday that he stands behind the intelligence community.

"I accept our intelligence community's conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place," he said, adding: "It could be other people also."

Trump's comments came after even his allies urged him to clean up the press conference statements from Finland. Until now, Trump had battled his critics via Twitter while defending his trip abroad.

Lawmakers sound off on Capitol Hill after the president refuses to stand up to the Russian leader on election meddling; Griff Jenkins reports on the fallout.
Trump tweeted earlier Tuesday that his earlier NATO meeting, where he pressed allies to commit more in defense spending, as well as the Putin summit were a success. Further, he argued his actions at NATO would be bad for Russia.

“I had a great meeting with NATO. They have paid $33 Billion more and will pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars more in the future, only because of me. NATO was weak, but now it is strong again (bad for Russia). The media only says I was rude to leaders, never mentions the money!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
I had a great meeting with NATO. They have paid $33 Billion more and will pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars more in the future, only because of me. NATO was weak, but now it is strong again (bad for Russia). The media only says I was rude to leaders, never mentions the money!
9:53 AM - Jul 17, 2018
79.3K
46.1K people are talking about this
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He added, moments later, that his meeting with Putin was “even better.”

“While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, it is not being reported that way—the Fake News is going Crazy!”


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, it is not being reported that way - the Fake News is going Crazy!
10:22 AM - Jul 17, 2018
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67.2K people are talking about this
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Trump continued to defend the meetings themselves while speaking to lawmakers at the White House, touting them as a success.

"We are going to have peace, that's what we want, and that's what we're going to have. I say peace through strength," Trump said of his talks with NATO allies, noting that the talks brought a "great spirit that we didn't have before."

Trump also defended his meeting with Putin, saying he entered with a strategy of "diplomacy" and "engagement," which is "better than hostility."

Trump said he was in a position of "strength" in the meeting.

"Our economy is booming, and our military ... it will be more powerful of a military than we've ever had before," Trump said, noting the range of topics he and Putin discussed included Syria, Iran, nuclear proliferation, North Korea and Israel.

"I think the meeting I had with President Putin was really strong. I think they were willing to do things, frankly I thought they wouldn't be willing to do," Trump said. "It was a very, very good meeting."

Trump had angered members of both parties, though, by saying both countries are to blame for damaged U.S.-Russian relations, and letting Putin deny election meddling unchallenged.

Democrats let loose on the president in response.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said ealier Tuesday that Trump's remarks were "nothing short of treason," echoing comments from Obama CIA boss John Brennan. He brushed off pressure from the party’s left flank to pursue impeachment, calling the issue a “distraction” – but kept the door open for some kind of future rebuke, saying there will be time to address such issues “once we take control of the House back.”

“Russia did meddle with our elections,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday, while urging the U.S. to aid other democracies around the world in protecting their election systems. “We know that they interfered, and we have passed sanctions…to make sure they don’t interfere again.”

Ryan suggested that the U.S. “will face this Russian aggression again.”

When asked whether he thought Trump was treasonous, he responded: “I do not.”

Ryan did say, however, that Special Counsel Robert Mueller “should be allowed to carry out his work” in investigating Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 presidential election.

On the Senate side, Republicans are discussing a new measure to back the intelligence community’s findings that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. So far, a similar measure has not been introduced or discussed in the House.

“I do think that the findings ... during the end of the Obama administration provides a road map to what the Russians did, as do the indictment of the 12 Russian GRU intelligence officials. And we’d better wake up,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Cornyn added that he “trusts” the intelligence community and the special counsel investigation “so far.”

“[The investigation] has shown there was absolutely no collusion with the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence activity leading up to the election,” Cornyn said. “That’s what I think has got the president so spun up, is because he feels this is an attack on him personally.”

He added: “I wish we could separate those two. But indeed our Democratic colleagues don’t want to separate those because they realize that this is the best way to keep this story going for as long as they can, through the next election, and who knows, through the presidential election as well.”

Trump was hit with a blistering statement from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has been out of Washington for months battling brain cancer. He called the president’s performance “disgraceful.”

Even some of the president’s closest surrogates, like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, criticized his comments and urged him to address them.

[Cebu_4_2]

Good video with Tuck Carlson? Not sure if I got the video link right tho... Trump, this guy should get some sleep. How does he do it?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/07/17/trump-says-im-not-pro-russia-hits-ex-cia-chief-brennan-for-calling-putin-news-conference-treasonous.html

Trump says 'I'm not pro-Russia,' hits ex-CIA chief Brennan for calling Putin news conference 'treasonous'

President Trump denied he was "pro-Russia" and slammed former CIA Director John Brennan in a Fox News interview airing Tuesday night, after the ex-intelligence chief described Trump's news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin as "treasonous."

"I think Brennan is a very bad guy and if you look at it a lot of things happened under his watch," Trump told Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Monday. "I think he's a very bad person."

The "Tucker Carlson Tonight" interview was recorded in Helsinki following the Trump-Putin news conference, at which Trump appeared to dismiss the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. Trump backtracked on Tuesday, claiming he meant to say he didn't see why Russia "wouldn't" be responsible for the meddling.


John O. Brennan
✔
@JohnBrennan
Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???
11:52 AM - Jul 16, 2018
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On Monday, Brennan tweeted that Trump's performance at the news conference "rises to & exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes & misdemeanors.'"

"Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin," added Brennan. "Republican Patriots: Where are you???"

Part 2 of Tucker's interview with President Trump in Helsinki - Trump on new Mueller indictment, Obama ignoring DNC hacking, political bias in FBI, DOJ, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's political troubles, European migration, Dem obstruction and more. #Tucker
In his interview, Trump compared Brennan to FBI official Peter Strzok, former FBI attorney Lisa Page, former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

"When you watch all of the things that have happened ... you look at the deception, the lies," Trump told Carlson. "These are people that in my opinion are truly bad people, and they’re being exposed for what they are."

When Carlson asked Trump if he considered Russia America's greatest adversary, the president answered: "I won't even use the word adversary. We can all work together. We can do great. Everybody can do well and we can live in peace."

Trump also invoked the Soviet Union's role in fighting Nazi Germany during World War II: "In World War II, Russia lost 50 million people and helped us win the war. I was saying to myself the other day, 'You know, Russia really helped us.'"

With no signed summit agreement, it's unclear what Presidents Trump and Putin agreed to beyond support for peace between Syria and Israel and vague promises of continued cooperation and dialogue; Rich Edson reports from the State Department.
"I’m not pro-Russia, pro-anybody," Trump went on. "I just want to have this country be safe. ... You know, Russia and the United States control 90 percent of the nuclear weapons in the world and getting along with Russia – and not only for that reason – it's a good thing, not a bad thing."

TRUMP SAYS MUELLER PROBE HAS DRIVEN 'WEDGE' BETWEEN U.S. AND RUSSIA, REVEALS PUTIN'S RESPONSE

During the wide-ranging interview, Trump also criticized European leaders over their countries' immigration policies. When Carlson asked if any nation in Europe had been improved by mass migration, the president responded: "Not one."

"One of my big things, and some people were insulted … I said, 'The immigration policies in Europe are a disaster. You're destroying Europe. You're destroying the culture of Europe. The crime is up in those areas and you’d better do something,'" Trump said.

The president singled out German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying that she had been "very badly hurt" by her migration policy.

Fox News contributor and Wall Street Journal associate editor John Bussey weighs in from Madrid.
"Angela was a superstar until she allowed millions of people to come into Germany," Trump said. "That really hurt her badly."

The president used his criticisms of Europe to tout his own immigration policies and slam congressional Democrats for opposing them.

"The Democrats want open borders, which is basically saying, 'We want open borders, we want crime,'" Trump said. "Maybe it’s a political philosophy they grew up with, maybe they learned it at school, maybe they're fools. I don’t know."

"We have the worst immigration laws in the world. We don't have any law. We have an opposite to law," the president said. "It's really disgraceful that the Democrats aren't doing something about it because we need their votes ... They're not good politicians, they've got horrible policy, but they're very good at sticking together and resisting and obstructing.

"But that's hurting our country," Trump went on. "But we'll get the immigration laws changed."

[EE_]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZCQm3o1lNE

[Cebu_4_2]

Trump: 'I accept' US intel conclusions on Russian meddling
President Trump says he has full faith and support for America's intelligence agencies.

President Trump said Tuesday that he misspoke when he seemed to dismiss allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, stating clearly that he accepts the U.S. intelligence community's conclusions as he sought to quell a bipartisan firestorm over his press conference with Vladimir Putin.

The president clarified his remarks during a meeting with lawmakers at the White House, in a rare backtrack.

In Helsinki a day earlier, Trump had said he doesn't "see any reason why" Russia would be behind election meddling. This and other comments led to bipartisan outrage and accusations that he was taking Putin's word over the intelligence community's.


But Trump said Tuesday he meant the opposite. He suggested he was surprised by the negative reaction when he returned to Washington.

"I came back and said 'What is going on, what’s the big deal?'” Trump said, adding that he reviewed the transcript and "realized that there is a need for some clarification."

The president told reporters that he meant to say he doesn't see why Russia "wouldn't" be responsible.

“I said the word 'would' instead of 'wouldn't' ... sort of a double negative," he said.

It's unclear whether the clarification will calm the backlash in Washington, as Trump also said following his meeting with Putin that the Russian leader gave a "strong and powerful" denial. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., kept up his criticism Tuesday afternoon, tweeting: "President Trump tried to squirm away from what he said yesterday. It’s twenty-four hours too late, and in the wrong place."

But Trump sought to make clear Tuesday that he stands behind the intelligence community.

"I accept our intelligence community's conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place," he said, adding: "It could be other people also."

Trump's comments came after even his allies urged him to clean up the press conference statements from Finland. Until now, Trump had battled his critics via Twitter while defending his trip abroad.

Lawmakers sound off on Capitol Hill after the president refuses to stand up to the Russian leader on election meddling; Griff Jenkins reports on the fallout.
Trump tweeted earlier Tuesday that his earlier NATO meeting, where he pressed allies to commit more in defense spending, as well as the Putin summit were a success. Further, he argued his actions at NATO would be bad for Russia.

“I had a great meeting with NATO. They have paid $33 Billion more and will pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars more in the future, only because of me. NATO was weak, but now it is strong again (bad for Russia). The media only says I was rude to leaders, never mentions the money!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
I had a great meeting with NATO. They have paid $33 Billion more and will pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars more in the future, only because of me. NATO was weak, but now it is strong again (bad for Russia). The media only says I was rude to leaders, never mentions the money!
9:53 AM - Jul 17, 2018
93K
51.5K people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
He added, moments later, that his meeting with Putin was “even better.”

“While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, it is not being reported that way—the Fake News is going Crazy!”


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, it is not being reported that way - the Fake News is going Crazy!
10:22 AM - Jul 17, 2018
91K
73.5K people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Trump continued to defend the meetings themselves while speaking to lawmakers at the White House, touting them as a success.

"We are going to have peace, that's what we want, and that's what we're going to have. I say peace through strength," Trump said of his talks with NATO allies, noting that the talks brought a "great spirit that we didn't have before."

Trump also defended his meeting with Putin, saying he entered with a strategy of "diplomacy" and "engagement," which is "better than hostility."

Trump said he was in a position of "strength" in the meeting.

"Our economy is booming, and our military ... it will be more powerful of a military than we've ever had before," Trump said, noting the range of topics he and Putin discussed included Syria, Iran, nuclear proliferation, North Korea and Israel.

"I think the meeting I had with President Putin was really strong. I think they were willing to do things, frankly I thought they wouldn't be willing to do," Trump said. "It was a very, very good meeting."

Trump had angered members of both parties, though, by saying both countries are to blame for damaged U.S.-Russian relations, and letting Putin deny election meddling unchallenged.

Democrats let loose on the president in response.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said earlier Tuesday that Trump's remarks were "nothing short of treason," echoing comments from Obama CIA boss John Brennan. He brushed off pressure from the party’s left flank to pursue impeachment, calling the issue a “distraction” – but kept the door open for some kind of future rebuke, saying there will be time to address such issues “once we take control of the House back.”

“Russia did meddle with our elections,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday, while urging the U.S. to aid other democracies around the world in protecting their election systems. “We know that they interfered, and we have passed sanctions…to make sure they don’t interfere again.”

Ryan suggested that the U.S. “will face this Russian aggression again.”

When asked whether he thought Trump was treasonous, he responded: “I do not.”

Ryan did say, however, that Special Counsel Robert Mueller “should be allowed to carry out his work” in investigating Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 presidential election.

On the Senate side, Republicans are discussing a new measure to back the intelligence community’s findings that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. So far, a similar measure has not been introduced or discussed in the House.

“I do think that the findings ... during the end of the Obama administration provides a road map to what the Russians did, as do the indictment of the 12 Russian GRU intelligence officials. And we’d better wake up,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Cornyn added that he “trusts” the intelligence community and the special counsel investigation “so far.”

“[The investigation] has shown there was absolutely no collusion with the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence activity leading up to the election,” Cornyn said. “That’s what I think has got the president so spun up, is because he feels this is an attack on him personally.”

He added: “I wish we could separate those two. But indeed our Democratic colleagues don’t want to separate those because they realize that this is the best way to keep this story going for as long as they can, through the next election, and who knows, through the presidential election as well.”

Trump was hit with a blistering statement from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has been out of Washington for months battling brain cancer. He called the president’s performance “disgraceful.”

Even some of the president’s closest surrogates, like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, criticized his comments and urged him to address them.

[BrewTech]

Yes, and this shall be the official sound track:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVkSF32kK9w (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVkSF32kK9w)

[midnight rambler]

https://rense.com//1.mpicons/nks06x.jpg