Trump’s ‘deeply troubling’ secret meeting with Putin
Top Democrat concerned at leaders’ second unofficial chat in Hamburg
The Fake News is becoming more and more dishonest DONALD TRUMP ON TWITTER
THE top Democrat on the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has questioned a secret meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Adam Schiff expressed concern at the nature of the unofficial talks in Germany. He told CNN: “These two isolated leaders on the world stage making common cause in a way that is not being witnessed by any of our national security officials... that’s deeply troubling.” A White House official admitted on Tuesday Trump and Putin had a previously undisclosed conversation during a dinner for G20 leaders at a summit in Hamburg. The US and Russian presidents held formal bilateral talks on July 7. However, the White House has now confirmed a second informal conversation took place which had previously been kept secret by both administrations. The two leaders spoke at the end of a couples-only social dinner. The White House did not previously disclose or offer a record of what was discussed during the meeting which only emerged after it was publicly revealed by Ian Bremmer, president of the international consulting firm Eurasia Group. The Trump administration was quick to say any insinuation it tried to hide the second meeting with Putin was false, malicious and absurd. And the President took to Twitter on Tuesday night to downplay the unofficial encounter, tweeting: “The Fake News is becoming more and more dishonest! Even a dinner arranged for top 20 leaders in Germany is made to look sinister!” During the dinner, Putin was seated next to first lady Melania Trump with the US leader sat some distance away on the opposite side. He then moved himself to be near the Russian leader after the meal had ended. The unscheduled meeting lasted as long as an hour and relied solely on a Kremlin-provided interpreter. During their official meeting Putin denied meddling in last year’s presidential election. It remains unclear whether or not Trump accepted the Kremlin’s version of events, although Russian officials claimed he did. White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Trump “heard” Putin’s denial “and he moved forward with places they thought they could work together”.