Trump chummy with Russia
Aide in contact with ambassador as U.S. was issuing sanctions
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidentelect Donald Trump’s national security adviser and Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. have been in frequent contact in recent weeks, including on the day the Obama administration hit Moscow with sanctions in retaliation for election-related hacking, a senior official said Friday.
Trump spokesman Sean Spicer acknowledged contacts between Michael Flynn and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, but said a phone conversation occurred on Dec. 28, one day before the sanctions were levied. Spicer said the men did not discuss sanctions. He did not specifically deny additional contacts the following day.
It’s not unusual for incoming administrations to have discussions with foreign governments before taking office. But the repeated contacts just as President Barack Obama imposed sanctions would raise questions about whether Trump’s team discussed — or even helped shape — Russia’s response to the penalties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly did not retaliate against the U.S., a decision Trump praised.
More broadly, Flynn’s contact with the Russian ambassador suggests the incoming administration has already begun to lay the groundwork for its promised, new closer relationship with Moscow. That effort appears to be progressing, even as many in Washington, Republicans included, have expressed outrage over intelligence officials’ assessment that Putin launched a hacking operation aimed at meddling in the U.S. election to benefit Trump.
During a news conference on Wednesday, Trump would not say whether he planned to repeal the sanctions ordered by Obama. He again highlighted his warmer rapport with the Russian leader.
“If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability, because we have a horrible relationship with Russia,” he said.
The sanctions targeted the GRU and FSB, leading Russian intelligence agencies that the U.S. said were involved in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and other groups. The U.S. also kicked out 35 Russian diplomats who it said were intelligence operatives.
Trump has been willing to insert himself into major foreign policy issues during the transition.
Trump acknowledged for the first time this week that he accepts that Russia was behind the hacking. But he questioned whether officials were leaking information about their meetings with him, warning that would be a “tremendous blot” on their record.
Flynn’s own ties with Russia have worried some Republicans who are more skeptical of the Kremlin than Trump appears to be. After leaving his position as director of the Defence Intelligence Agency in 2014, Flynn made appearances on RT, a state-run Russian television network. In 2015, he was paid to attend an RT gala in Moscow, where he sat next to Putin.
As national security adviser, Flynn will work in the West Wing close to the Oval Office and have frequent access to Trump. Unlike Trump’s nominees to lead the Pentagon, State Department and other national security agencies, Flynn’s post does not require Senate confirmation.