US lawmakers binanatan si Trump sa Putin summit
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Nagbalik si Donald Trump nitong Lunes mula sa kanyang European tour para harapin ang galit sa Washington, kung saan kinokondena ng US intelligence officials at senior Republicans ang pangulo na ‘’shameful’’ at ‘’disgraceful’’ matapos tumanggi siyang hamunin si Russian President Vladimir Putin kaugnay sa pangialam sa halalan sa Amerika.
Sinabi ni Republican Senator John McCain na ang tila pagtanggap ni Trump sa pagtanggi ni Putin ay historical ‘’low point’’ para sa US presidency at ang Helsinki summit ng dalawang lider ay isang ‘’tragic mistake.’’
‘’Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naivete, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate,’’ ani McCain sa maanhang na pahayag.
‘’No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant.’’
Direktang hinarap ang isyu sa pangulo na nagtalaga sa kanya, sinabi ni Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats na ang US spy agencies ay naging ‘’clear’’ at ‘’fact-based’’ sa kanilang assessment na nakialam ang Moscow sa halalan sa panguluhan dalawang taon na ang nakalipas – isang assessment na hindi inendorso ni Trump sa Helsinki.
Ginulat ni Trump kapwa ang mga kaalyado at kalaban sa politika sa kanyang sagot sa tanong tungkol sa Russian hacking at interference noong 2016 election kung saan tinalo niya ang Democrat na si Hillary Clinton.
Sinabi ni Trump na si Putin ‘’just said it is not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.’’
Tila tinanggap din ni Trump ang alok ni Putin na tutulong ang Russian investigators sa US prosecutors sa kaso ng 12 Russian kaugnay sa election hacking. ‘’I think that’s an incredible offer,’’ aniya. Kinondena ng Republicans at Democrats si Trump.
‘’The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally,’’ sinabi ni Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan.
‘’This is shameful,’’ sinabi ni Senator Jeff Flake, kapwa Republican at masugid na kritiko ng pangulo. ‘’I never thought I would see the day when our American president would stand on the stage with the Russian president and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression.’’
Banat ni Democratic California Representative Jimmy Gomez: ‘’To side with Putin over US intelligence is disgusting; to fail to defend the US is on the verge of treason.’’