Putin isn't coming to Washington this fall after all

Russian President Vladimir Putin isn't coming to visit the U.S. this fall anymore, National Security Adviser John Bolton told NBC News on Wednesday.

President Trump "believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over," Bolton said, referring to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, "so we've agreed that it will be after the first of the year."

Bolton previously extended an invite from Trump to host Putin in Washington, D.C., in the coming months, and the White House said discussions were "underway" to make it happen. Trump received some backlash for the move, given that a fall visit would coincide with the midterm elections in which Russia is accused of interfering. National Intelligence Director Dan Coats laughed and called the idea "special" when informed of the invitation last week. Others called the idea of a Putin visit fishy given recent accusations that Trump is too cozy with the Russian president amid the ongoing investigation into whether his campaign colluded with Russia's cyberattacks in 2016.

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