https://youtu.be/RU7SVwuY87s
But what really should raise eyebrows is what followed at the private meeting.
Turns out the Trump administration put out a statement saying Trump "pressed" Putin on Russia hacking the 2016 election, but the wording from the statement from Secretary of Sate Rex Tillerson is actually difficult not to qualify as bogus because of the way the meeting took place. According to The New York Times:
President Trump pressed Vladimir V. Putin on Russia’s interference in the 2016 United States election but did not dwell on the subject. Their encounter lasted two hours and 15 minutes, far longer than expected.
Did not dwell on the subject? That sounds more like Trump said "people in American are saying this" and then changed the subject after Putin said "pics or it didn't happen."
Which is exactly what happened:
Mr. Putin denied interfering in the election, and he asked for evidence. Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson said the disagreement might be “intractable,” but that the two countries should try to “move forward.”
In other words, Trump is trying to bury the issue.
And by the way: Only six people were on the meeting: Trump, Putin, Tillerson, his Russian counterpart, and two translators. Putin wanted more people but Trump didn't because Trump didn't want any leaks. I kid you not. This is what The New York Times reported:
The Russians had agitated to include several more staff members in the meeting, but Mr. Trump’s team had insisted that the meeting be kept small to avoid leaks and competing accounts later, according to an administration official with direct knowledge of the carefully choreographed meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity around the matter.
So the fact that Trump didn't want leakes was leaked.
Now, why would there be "competing accounts" of what happened? Probably because Trump is lying about what actually took place. You see, Putin's version isn't that Trump "pressed" on the 2016 election hack, but that Trump mentioned "cybersecurity." According to The Hill:
Russian president Vladmir Putin told state media outlets that he and President Trump discussed cybersecurity, Syria and Ukraine in a Friday meeting at an economic summit in Germany.
It is likely the “cybersecurity” aspect of the conversation included Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which included an email hacking campaign against the top Democratic campaign arm in the U.S.
So there you have it: a conflicting account right off the bat. And the one who seems to be making stuff up is Trump. No wonder why he didn't want any leaks.
UPDATE: Russia's Foreign Minister said Trump accepted Putin's claim that he did not hack the US election, which is a lie. Meaning Trump did not "press" Putin, and when Putin lied about it, Trump just accepted it. Except the US intelligence agencies did find evidence of Putin hacking the election and that is why there's an investigation into it in the US.
BREAKING: Russian foreign minister says Trump accepted Putin's assurances that Russia didn't meddle in the U.S. election.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 7, 2017
UPDATE 2: According to AP, Putin said the next that Trump believed his simple denial of hacking the US election. In other words, Trump believes more Putin than the US intelligence agencies at his command. From the AP article:
[Putin] said Trump asked him numerous questions about Russia’s alleged interference in the U.S. election during a lengthy discussion on the issue.
Putin says he thinks his answers satisfied Trump, but added that Trump’s opinion would be better sought from the U.S. president himself.
The key to understand this is the following:
He says Moscow and Washington would be able to improve their ties if the two countries keep relating the way he and Trump did.
Which means Putin got what he wanted in hacking the US election: A puppet in the White House.
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