Trump pressed aides on Venezuela invasion
uct” written by analysts who were under “no politically motivated pressure” and were “free to debate, object to content, and assess confidence levels, as is normal and proper”.
The committee continues to probe the meddling and plans to address related issues in subsequent findings. One of the issues it will investigate is the dossier put together by a former British spy Christopher Steele, who has alleged, without evidence, that Kremlin has some damaging information on Trump.
Russian interference in the 2016 elections is also being probed by special counsel Robert Muller and his team, which has already secured several indictments and guilty pleas, including that of Trump’s former NSA Michael Flynn. Mueller’s team has been in discussions with the White House to interview Trump, who has said he is willing to do it. However, his legal team has strongly advised against it. BOGOTA: As a meeting last August in the Oval Office to discuss sanctions on Venezuela was concluding, President Donald Trump turned to his top aides and asked an unsettling question: With Venezuela threatening regional security, why can’t the US just simply invade the troubled country?
The suggestion stunned those present at the meeting, including secretary of state Rex Tillerson and national security adviser HR Mcmaster, both of whom have since left the administration.
In an exchange that lasted around five minutes, Mcmaster and others took turns explaining to Trump how military action could backfire and risk losing support among Latin American governments to punish President Nicolas Maduro for taking Venez- uela down the path of dictatorship, according to the official.
But Trump pushed back, the next day, on August 11, Trump alarmed friends and foes alike with talk of a “military option” to remove Maduro from power. The public remarks were initially dismissed in US policy circles as the sort of martial bluster people have come to expect from him.
But shortly afterward, he raised the issue with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, according to a US official. Then in September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Trump discussed it again with leaders from four Latin American allies.
Eventually, Mcmaster would pull him aside and walk him through the dangers of an invasion, the official said.