Donald Trump invites Vladimir Putin to Washington
Senior intelligence staff caught off-guard by invitation to Russian president
Donald Trump will invite Vladimir Putin to visit Washington this autumn after the pair’s recent meeting in Helsinki, The White House has announced.
News of the invitation “stunned the nation’s top intelligence official”, Dan Coats, The New York Times reports. He first learned of the plan while being interviewed by NBC News at the Aspen Security Forum.
“Say that again… Did I hear you?” Coats said when the interviewer broke the news. “OK… That’s going to be special.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Coats, who is US director of national intelligence, has expressed misgivings about meetings between Trump and Putin, reports The Washington Post. He was concerned about the Helsinki summit because “no notes were taken and only two interpreters were present”, the paper says.
Preparations for the autumn meeting are “already underway”, according to CNN, after Trump told John Bolton, his national security adviser, to begin making arrangements.
Democrats have seized on the idea of having Putin visit Washington in the run-up to the mid-term elections in November. “Late October would be great for us,” Democratic Senator Brian Schatz tweeted.
No deal
Yesterday Trump rejected a request by Putin to let Russia interrogate several US citizens accused of unspecified crimes, including the former US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul.
Putin had reportedly floated the idea with Trump as part of a deal in which US authorities could have interrogated 12 Russian operatives indicted last week as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
Senior Republicans has expressed dismay that Trump would even consider the deal.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Biden poised to ease marijuana restrictions
Speed Read The move will reclassify it as a less dangerous drug
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
A history of student protest at Columbia University
The Explainer Anti-Israel demonstrations at NYC's Ivy League university echo protests against Vietnam War and South African apartheid
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Trump is ruled in contempt'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Can we — the people who have bought so much already — really keep buying more?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Chechnya in jeopardy: what would death of Ramzan Kadyrov mean for Putin?
Today's Big Question Strongman leader is 'terminally ill', stoking fears of armed conflict in the North Caucasus
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
'Presidential debates are more performance art than actual ways to inform'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Trump, DeSantis meet for first time since primary
Speed Read The former president and the Florida governor have seemingly mended their rivalry
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Justices set to punt on Trump immunity case
Speed Read Conservative justices signaled support for Trump's protection from criminal charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Arizona grand jury indicts 18 in Trump fake elector plot
Speed Read The state charged Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies in 2020 election interference case
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published