Trump supports bill to punish Russia over poll meddling, White House says
‘Nearly united congress is poised to send president Putin a clear message’
Donald Trump supports the latest version of a bill to sanction Russia for meddling in the US presidential election last year, White House aides said yesterday.
The bill, which would also prevent the president from acting unilaterally to remove sanctions on Russia, could soon land on Mr Trump’s desk for signature after Republican and Democratic leaders in the house of representatives reached agreement on the legislation.
“We support where the legislation is now,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“The original piece of legislation was poorly written, but we were able to work with the house and senate. And the administration is happy with the ability to do that and make those changes that were necessary,” she said.
But she stopped short of confirming that Mr Trump would sign the bill as written.
The original legislation related to sanctions on Iran, with actions against Russia added by the senate when it passed the bill 98-2 last month.
Members of the house from Mr Trump’s Republican party and the Democratic party announced an agreement at the weekend to fix procedural concerns, add sanctions against North Korea, and modify provisions that would restrict the participation of US energy companies in some international projects, clearing the way for a vote on the bill this week. The White House had argued that it needed flexibility to adjust economic sanctions against Moscow.
The bill as passed by the senate prohibited US businesses from working on or supporting energy projects that include any participation by Russian companies, even outside Russia’s borders.
The new version of the bill released by house Republican leaders sets a threshold for Russian involvement, applying that restriction to projects where sanctioned Russian entities have at least a 33 per cent interest.
The revised legislation, which is to be tabled tomorrow, was “the product of intense negotiations”, said senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the senate foreign relations committee. With the changes, “a nearly united congress is poised to send president [Vladimir] Putin a clear message on behalf of the American people and our allies, and we need president Trump to help us deliver that message”, he said.
The legislation comes after US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia sought to influence the American presidential election last year. Congressional committees and the FBI are examining the Russian interference and whether there was any collusion with Mr Trump’s campaign. If the house passes the modified sanctions package, the senate will hold another vote on the bill and Mr Trump will then be faced with signing legislation that takes away his power to act unilaterally on sanctions. But if he vetoes a law proposed in part to punish Russia for its documented interference in the election, he risks the appearance of doing a favour for Moscow.
Even if Mr Trump were to oppose the measure, congress could overturn it with a two thirds majority of both houses.
“If he vetoes the bill, we will override his veto,” Mr Cardin said.
The legislation has gained urgency as evidence emerged in recent weeks that members of Mr Trump’s family and inner circle contacted Russians during last year’s campaign.
Most recently, The Washington Post reported that attorney general Jeff Sessions had discussed election-related issues with Moscow’s ambassador to the US, citing diplomatic cables sent from the Russian embassy.
Mr Sessions, who has denied discussing the elections with Sergei Kislyak, recused himself from the investigation into possible Russian interference in the election after reports that he had not disclosed meetings with ambassador.
The Russian embassy announced on Saturday that Mr Kislyak’s assignment in Washington had ended.
There was no announcement about his successor, although it is expected to be Anatoly Antonov, a deputy foreign minister and former deputy defence minister seen as a hardliner regarding the US.
The legislation comes after US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia sought to influence the American presidential election