Sally Yates slams Trump's 'inexplicable refusal' to acknowledge Russian election meddling as Putin meeting begins

Just as President Trump sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a meeting Friday, former acting Attorney General Sally Yates tweeted for just the second time ever to criticize Trump's "inexplicable refusal" to acknowledge that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Yates, whom Trump fired after she refused to defend his travel ban, contended that Trump's hesitancy to embrace U.S. intelligence agencies' consensus that Russia interfered was not just insulting, it could have consequences down the road:
In Poland on Thursday, Trump contradicted U.S. intelligence by claiming that "nobody really knows for sure" if Russia meddled in the election. "I agree, I think it was Russia, but I think it was probably other people and/or countries," Trump said.
Trump was asked Friday as he sat beside Putin whether he would press the Russian president on election interference during their meeting. HuffPost's Jennifer Bendery reported the president refused to answer the question, instead saying "'something to Putin, who chuckled.'"
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Film reviews: Eden and Honey Don't!
Feature Seekers of a new utopia spiral into savagery and a queer private eye prowls a high-desert town
-
Critics' choice: Three chefs fulfilling their ambitions
Feature Kwame Onwuachi's grand second act, Travis Lett makes a comeback, and Jeff Watson's new Korean restaurant
-
Trump soaks up adoration in his made-for-TV Cabinet meetings
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The president's televised sessions have become a platform for his top lieutenants to demonstrate executive flattery
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other cities
speed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material