Monday, July 16, 2018

Putin dismisses, but doesn’t quite deny, rumors Russia has compromised Trump

Yahoo News           MICHAEL WALSH          July 16th 2018 
Asked about widespread suspicions that the Russian government possesses compromising intelligence on President Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged hearing those “rumors” and urged journalists to ignore them. But he did not explicitly deny it.

Putin was asked about the allegations, which originally surfaced in a dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, in a highly anticipated joint press conference with Trump after the two leaders met privately in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. The dossier contained uncorroborated reports that the Kremlin had taped Trump with prostitutes in his hotel room in Moscow during a 2013 visit.

Jonathan Lemire, a White House reporter for the Associated Press, asked, “Can you tell me what President Trump may have indicated to you about officially recognizing Crimea as part of Russia? And secondly, sir, does the Russian government have any compromising material on President Trump or on his family?”

The audience laughed briefly before Putin responded that Trump’s position is well-known and that he still thinks Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 was illegal. Putin, as expected, defended the action and said that Russia had acted in accordance with international law.

“And now to the compromising material,” Putin said. “Yeah, I did hear these rumors that we allegedly collected compromising material on Trump when he was visiting Moscow. Our distinguished colleague, let me tell you this: When President Trump was in Moscow back then, I didn’t even know he was in Moscow.”

In November 2013, Trump was in the Russian capital for the Miss Universe pageant. Putin said he wasn’t even aware that Trump was visiting at the time. But, as Yahoo News Chief Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff and Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn reveal in their book “Russian Roulette,” Trump and Putin were very much aware of each other’s presence:
"Once in Moscow, Trump received a private message from the Kremlin, delivered by Aras Agalarov, an oligarch close to Putin and Trump’s partner in hosting the Miss Universe event there: ‘Mr. Putin would like to meet Mr. Trump.’ That excited Trump. The American developer thought there was a strong chance the Russian leader would attend the pageant. But as his time in Russia wore on, Trump heard nothing else. He became uneasy.”

At the Finnish press conference, Putin did not actually expliAt the Finnish press conference, Putin did not actually explicitly deny the allegation that Russian operatives collected information on Trump, raising the possibility that Putin wants Trump to think he has compromising information — whether he does or not.

Putin suggested he would have had no interest in surveilling Trump back when he was a “private person” — despite the fact that he was among the most famous businessmen and television personalities in the world. To demonstrate this supposed absurdity, Putin pointed to the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

“There were over 500 American businessmen, high-ranking ones — I didn’t even remember the last names of each and every one of them,” Putin said. “Do you think that we tried to collect compromising material on each and every single one of them? Well, it’s difficult to imagine.”

Putin finished his response by encouraging Lemire and other concerned listeners to simply stop thinking about it: “Well, please just disregard these issues and don’t think about this anymore.”

Trump said that if Russia had collected anything, “it would’ve been out long ago” — before changing the subject to former FBI agent Peter Strzok’s testimony before Congress, which he called a “disgrace to the FBI,” “disgrace to our country” and “a total witch hunt.”

3 comments:

  1. jeannie and Baby
    Today was officially the day Trump handed the keys to America over to Putin.To all fellow baby boomers...our dads and moms fought in WWII against facism....this can't stand in the name of our parents and those who gave their lives to fight what putin stands for....to let this stand is COMPLETE FAILURE , TRUMP IS A TRAITOR , IT COULDN'T BE MORE CLEAR ...SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE.. I dare say . Putin's response on Trump 'Rumors' raises eyebrows.
    This is just beyond ridiculous!! Trump doesn't even try to hide his "relationship" with Putin anymore. Every one of our intelligence agencies, The Senate Intel Committee and the DOJ have all provided rock solid 'PROOF' that Putin and Russia hacked into our election. Trump does NOTHING because he wants it to continue. And you Trumpcons still believe trump when he calls it "fake news"???????
    Over and over I read that Trump supporters call themselves "Proud Americans" and "Patriots" and to hell with everyone else. After this disgraceful show today, how can they possibly continue to support someone as "unpatriotic" as Trump? It's been fairly well known that the kremlin has collected info on important private citizens for years. not just those visiting Russia, but also some in their own countries.Russians have had financial dealings with the Trump mafia for years. It stands to reason they woud want to know what was going on under the Orange hair.fat boy in Moscow presented the perfect oportunity for Trump t t show some backbone.
    My dad taught me long ago 'Money' doesn't buy class. And Trump is living proof , now I teach it to my kids
    Just my humble opinion
    PS: I'm beginning to like hanging out with you ladies

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. witchy respnse
      Howdy Big Boy,
      WE have just seen some major GOP people come to their senses and call this meeting for what it was - a major failure of tRUMP to actually advance US interests and to confront Putin , his real boss, about the many new indictments of 13 high level Russian spies who interfered with the USA election. We don't know all that was said in the meeting, but things point to more obvious collusion between trump and pootie. Making Russia Great Again!
      America was fooled when this con and his gang stole the presidency and now giving in to Russia. Shame on you for voting for this con.At their joint press conference, President Putin was calculated and in control. Conversely, President tRUMP seemed to lack authority, praising Putin when he should have been condemning him, and ceding opportunities to confront Putin on his most egregious actions of the past decade – including meddling in the 2016 election and the illegal annexation of Crimea ...that's the way I saw it.
      Got a durprise for you
      Baby

      Delete
  2. Mr Putin is an old hand at handling press conferences and slip-sliding around the questions. He doesn't deny but he doesn't admit. He was brilliant at espionage in the KBG and had training in extracting intelligence from targets. He also had a license to kill. As far as anyone knows he did not get involved physically in torturing but found that blackmail worked far better.
    Is he holding something over Trump's head ??...You betcha. Probably not pee pee tapes... too plebian (although he does have some). I think it's something financial or business related...some conflict of interest that Trump does not want the world to find out about. Putin is also a lawyer so he's got his own dossier full of juicy stuff on Tangerine Man to hold him to ransom. How could Trump possibly think he is in the same league with this man or outwit him?
    Christopher Steele is a very reliable source. His dossier is golden to Mueller and friends. I think he is the real deal.
    Trump threw America under the bus along with all the agencies that serve her. Along with all America's allies. How can his mantra be "America First"?
    I got no surprise for you man
    Love Shadow

    PS: But you might like this:

    YOU NEED A NEW LAWYER WHEN:

    The prosecutors see your lawyer and they high-five each
    other.

    He picks the jury by playing "duck-duck-goose."

    He asks a hostile witness to "pull my finger."

    A prison guard is shaving your head.

    He keeps yelling "I call Jack Daniels to the stand!" then drinks a shot.

    He frequently gives juror No. 4 the finger.

    He places a "No Refunds" sign on the defense table.

    He begins closing arguments with, "As Peewee Herman once said ..."

    He keeps citing the legal case of Godzilla v. Mothra.

    Just before trial starts he whispers, "The judge is the one with
    the little hammer, right?"

    Just before he says "Your Honor," he makes those little quotation
    marks in the air with his fingers.

    Whenever his objection is overruled, he tells the judge,
    "Whatever."

    He giggles every time he hears the word "briefs."

    ReplyDelete

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