Trump backs Putin on poll meddling
Sparks storm of criticism
HELSINKI (Reuters) — Standing side by side with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump refused on Monday to blame Putin for meddling in the 2016 US election, casting doubt on the findings of his own intelligence agencies and sparking a storm of criticism at home.
Although he faced pressure from critics, allied countries and even his own staff to take a tough line, Trump spoke not a single disparaging word in public about Moscow on any of the issues that have brought relations between the two powers to the lowest ebb since the Cold War.
Instead, he denounced the “stupidity” of his own country’s policies, especially the decision to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Just three days ago, the US Justice Department announced an indictment of 12 Russian spies for hacking into Democratic Party computer networks.
Trump’s performance at a joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki stirred a wave of condemnation in the United States, including criticism from within his own Republican Party. The White House has struggled for months to dispel suggestions that Trump was unwilling to stand up to Russia.
Asked if he believed US intelligence agencies, which concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in an effort to help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump said he was not convinced it was Moscow.
“I don’t see any reason why it would be,” Trump said. “President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”
Dan Coats, Trump’s director of national intelligence, promptly made clear he did not share the president’s view. “We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security,” he said in a statement.
The news conference also rattled some officials in the State and Defense Departments and in US intelligence agencies, according to officials in five government offices.
Some career diplomats also expressed alarm. Bill Burns, a former US deputy secretary of state and ambassador to Russia, said in a telephone interview: “I have ... seen a lot of performances by presidents on the world stage, but I cannot think of one that was more appalling than this one.”
Hours after the Helsinki summit, Trump tweeted: “I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people. However, I also recognize that in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past — as the world’s two largest nuclear powers, we must get along!”