Trump questions the US intelligence services
Standing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump openly questioned the findings of his own intelligence services that Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election for Trump's benefit and seemed to accept Putin's insistence that Russia has the clean hands. Putin said he wanted Trump to win (because of his policies) but he did not do anything to help him.
"I have great confidence in my intelligence services, but I tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his refusal today," said Trump, who repeatedly denounced the special prosecutor's investigation of Russian interference efforts, which officials of American intelligence have said are still in action.
"I do not see any reason why Russia interfered in the 2016 elections," Trump said. For his part, Putin said for the first time that he wanted Trump to win the elections, but insisted that he had not interfered, and never would, in the US elections.
It was an extraordinary press conference that ended the summit between Trump and Putin, in which the American president showed what was in fact a warm acceptance of the man who for years has been isolated by the United States and its Western allies for the Kremlin activities in Ukraine, Syria and other places.
Trump said he and Putin "spent a lot of time discussing" allegations of Russian interference in the elections when they met for several hours on Monday. But Trump declined the opportunity to denounce Putin for interference efforts, including the penetration of the Democratic Party's email system, which was the subject of the prosecution of 12 Russians last week by the Justice Department.
Trump said, as he has repeated to the point of exhaustion, that "there was no collusion" between his campaign and the Russian government. "We did a brilliant campaign and that's why I'm president," he said.
Putin also suggested on Monday that Moscow and Washington jointly investigate a dozen Russian intelligence officers accused of illegally entering the election campaign for the presidency in 2016, an idea that Trump called an "incredible offer."
Asked if Russia would extradite the 12 Russian military, Putin challenged the United States to take advantage of a 1999 agreement on mutual legal assistance.
The Russian leader said the agreement would allow US authorities to request that Russian officials interrogate the 12 persons and added that the United States could request presence in such interrogations. Putin said Russia would expect the United States to return the favor and cooperate in the investigation of his country with William Browder, a British investor accused of financial crimes in Russia. Browder was a major force behind a US law against Russian officials on human rights abuses.
The summit began hours after Trump blamed the United States (and not the Russian meddling in the US elections or its annexation of Crimea) for how low the relations between the two countries have fallen.
