US considering Russian proposal

KREMLIN: AMERICANS SUSPECTED OF ‘ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES’

Among those implicated is former ambassador Michael McFaul.

The White House on Wednesday declined to rule out accepting a Russian proposal for the questioning in the United States of Americans sought by the Kremlin for “illegal activities”, including a former US ambassador to Moscow.

The proposal arose at Monday’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and any decision by Washington to assist with an adversary’s prosecution of former government employees overseas would be a stunning shift in US policy, especially as it could violate the international legal principle of diplomatic immunity.

“The president is going to meet with his team and we’ll let you know when we have an announcement on that,” White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders told a news briefing.

Sanders added Trump “said it was an interesting idea. He wants to work with his team and determine if there is any validity that would be helpful to the process”.

Putin suggested at the Helsinki summit that he would let US investigators be present for questioning of 12 Russian intelligence officers charged last Friday on allegations they carried out cyber attacks to interfere in the 2016 US election, if Russians could do the same in America for people connected to money manager Bill Browder, a one-time investor in Russia.

Browder has said he helped expose corruption in Russia.

Putin accused Browder of making campaign contributions to Trump’s election rival, Hillary Clinton, with money he earned in Russia on which he did not pay taxes.

Putin said US intelligence officers helped Browder.

On Wednesday, the Russian Prosecutor-General’s office listed Americans it wants to question for “illegal activities”, including Michael McFaul, who was US ambassador to Russia during the Obama administration.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray was dismissive of the proposal. “I never want to say never about anything, but it’s certainly not high on our list of investigative techniques,” he said.

US state department spokesperson Heather Nauert called the Russian allegations “absolutely absurd”.

McFaul told Reuters he has contacted Stanford lawyers. He denied Russia’s accusations and expressed deep concern that the White House failed to defend him. – Reuters