The Serious Side - part 6

Nordstrom 2, the new gas pipeline Trump is referring to (I guess), will deliver gas to Germany as well as many other European countries. Maybe he thought that the gas will only be for Germany...

But maybe he simply wants to sell American gas to Europe...

He is a grown man with a child's mind and vocabulary.

PAN - Saying he's like a child is insulting to children. Most of them are smarter and have more integrity than he does.

Two things: The Senate easily passed a resolution to keep funding NATO no matter what Trump says.

And (for a laugh)- TMZ thinks the woman traveling with Trump might not be Melania, but a double! They did a side by side comparison of photos of her from before and during the trip - and there really does seem to be a difference. They also mentioned that this woman has allowed Trump to hold her hand during this trip and that's something Melania hasn't done for a while. - So, is this a double, did she have some work done or is Trump paying through the nose (I hope)? We may never know.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5946075/Trump-sparks-Brexit-storm-hours-flies-UK.html

[size=34]Trump arrives in the UK amid major spat with May after he slams the PM's Brexit plan as not 'what people voted for' and urges her to take a tougher line on immigration[/size]

• Donald Trump has arrived in the UK for visit after making an extraordinary intervention in the Brexit row 
  
  
• Theresa May is rolling out the red carpet for the US President, who will meet Queen at Windsor Castle
  
  
• The stinging criticism of her Brexit plans by Mr Trump will be a major blow to the PM amid her political woes
  
  
• Mrs May is facing a desperate battle for her political life amid a massive mutiny by Tory Eurosceptics 
  
  

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE and KATE FERGUSON, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR MAILONLINE and TIM SCULTHORPE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 06:53 EDT, 12 July 2018 | UPDATED: 09:40 EDT, 12 July 2018


    



Donald Trump arrived in the UK today amid a full-blown spat with Theresa May after he slammed her Brexit plan as not 'what people voted for'.
The US president took an axe to diplomatic niceties before even touching down at Stansted airport as he delivered a series of extraordinary jibes in a press conference at the NATO summit in Brussels.
Before boarding Air Force One with First Lady Melania, Mr Trump highlighted Mrs May's political woes, saying he was heading for a 'hot spot'.
And he made clear that he did not approve of the softer stance the PM has been advocating despite fury from many Tory MPs.

'Brexit is Brexit, the people voted to break it up so I would imagine that is what they'll do, but they might take a different route. I'm not sure that's what people voted for,' Mr Trump said.


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Mr Trump and his wife Melania waved as they stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport this afternoon - but he is already in a diplomatic row with Theresa May 


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Air Force One touched down at Stansted Airport just before 2pm this afternoon as Mr Trump began his visit to the UK


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Mr Trump and the First Lady held hands as they walked down the steps from Air Force One on to the tarmac at Stansted Airport this afternoon


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Theresa May (pictured at the NATO summit in Brussels today) has made clear she welcomes the 'engagement' between the US president and the Russian president on Monday


He shrugged off the prospect of protests on the streets, saying there were 'always protests' – and insisted that British people liked him because he was tough on immigration.
For good measure. Mr Trump also managed to congratulate a Croatian journalist on the victory of his national team against England in the World Cup. 

Who is on the guest list for the Blenheim Palace dinner with Donald Trump?

Theresa May is throwing Donald Trump a lavish black-tie dinner at Blenheim Palace - the ancestral home of Winston Churchill.
Here is who will and won't be on the guestlist:
Who will be there?
The US President will dine with around 150 business leaders at the stately home, as well as ministers.
Among the guest list are:
European boss of Goldman Sachs, Richard Gnodde.
Facebook UK and Ireland boss Steve Hatch
BlackRock boss Larry Fink 
Unilever CEO Paul Polman 
Who will not be going?
Tata steel: The steel giant has been a vocal critic of the President's 15 per cent steel tariffs. 
Baroness Martha Lane-Fox: The businesswoman, who co founded Last Minute online travel website at the height of the dotcom boom, turned down an invite to attend.
Lord Sugar: The businessman and presenter of the UK TV show The Apprentice  - which Donald Trump fronted in America - did not get an invite.



Mrs May dismissed the criticism as she departed the summit this afternoon, telling journalists: 'We have come to an agreement at the proposal we're putting to the European Union which absolutely delivers on the Brexit people voted for.
'They voted for us to take back control of our money, our law and our borders and that's exactly what we will do' 
But Downing Street has been fearing that US President could publicly urge the PM to abandon her Chequers Brexit plans, which sparked the shock resignations ofBoris Johnson and David Davis this week.
The PM is battling for her political career as mutinous Eurosceptic Tories have launch coordinated resignations and are mobilising to kill off her 'third way' proposals.
Mr Trump said the UK was a 'pretty hot spot right now' with 'lots of resignations'.
'Brexit is – I have been reading about Brexit a lot over the last few days and it seems to be turning a little bit differently where they are getting at least partially involved back with the European Union,' he said.
'I have no message it is not for me to say…'
He added: 'I'd like to see them be able to work it out so it can go quickly - whatever they work out.
'I would say Brexit is Brexit. When you use the term hard Brexit I assume that's what you mean. 
'A lot of people voted to break it up so I would imagine that's what they would do but maybe they are taking a little bit of a different route. I don't know if that's what they voted for. 
'I just want the people to be happy…..I am sure there will be protests because there are always protests.' 
Speaking about the prospect of demonstrations in the UK over his visit, Mr Trump told reporters: 'They like me a lot in the UK. I think they agree with me on immigration.'
He added: 'I think that's why Brexit happened.' 
Sources close to the President have warned a lucrative transatlantic trade deal would be impossible if the UK keeps close ties with Brussels.


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The Trumps were greeted by a guard of honour as they disembarked Air Force One to begin their visit to Britain


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The US president made a series of incendiary comments as he held a press conference at the NATo summit in Brussels before heading for the UK


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The US President (pictured with the PM at the NATO summit in Brussels yesterday) publicly criticised the PM's Chequers Brexit plans, which sparked the shock resignations of Boris Johnson and David Davis


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Mr Trump let loose at Mrs May's policy as he claimed victory over demands for NATO allies to invest more money in defence  


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Just hours before he is due to arrive in the UK, Mr Trump highlighted Mrs May's political woes, saying Britain was a 'hot spot'


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A huge security fence has been put up around the US ambassador's residence at in Regent's Park in London - where the Trump's will stay tonight. Protesters have vowed to try to keep the couple awake with a 'wall of sound'
One ally told The Daily Telegraph: '[He] is going to express disappointment that the British government is not going to be in a position to negotiate a trade deal with the United States.'  
Mr Trump headed for the UK immediately after the press conference for his highly controversial visit - which is expected to be marred by mass protests in London tomorrow.
Protesters have vowed to try to keep Mr Trump awake all night by creating a 'wall of sound' outside the US ambassadorial residence in Regents park where he will be staying tonight.

What's on the menu for  Donald Trump during his UK visit?

At Blenheim Palace dinner tonight:
Starter: Scottish salmon
Main: English Hereford beef filet and vegetables
Pudding: Strawberries and clotted cream ice cream.
At Chequers working lunch tomorrow: 
Starter: Dover sole
Main: Chiltern lamb and vegetables.
Pudding: Lemon meringue pie.



Demonstrators have been told to bring a long pots, drums and noisy plastic horns known as vuvuzelas as they descend on the central London spot from 5.30pm tonight.
Writing on the event's Facebook page, organisers said: 'Ahead of the main demonstration on Friday, we want to create a wall of sound to give him the (un)welcome he deserves. Bring your megaphones, whistles, pots and pans and anything else you can make noise with!'
Some 2,600 people have said they are 'interested' in going to the event, later today. 
But Mr Trump will spend as little time as possible in the capital - and is being whisked away to Blenheim Palace  - Winston Churchill's ancestral home in Oxfordshire - for a banquet tonight.
The PM is trying to woo the President with dinner of Scottish salmon, English Hereford beef filet and vegetables, and strawberries and clotted cream ice cream. 
He will hold talks with Mrs May at her country retreat at Chequers rather than at No10 in a bid the President away from the tens of thousands of protesters expected to descend on the capital.
At Chequers the two leaders will dine on Dover sole, Chiltern lamb and vegetables, and lemon meringue pie.  
But the trip comes at a tricky time for the two leaders, whose relationship has been rocky.
Mr Trump sparked a major diplomatic row at the NATO summit by accusing Germany of being a 'captive of Russia' because the country imports nearly all its gas from Moscow.
At the press conference today, the US president described himself as a 'very stable genius' for securing agreements for extra cash after years of the burden falling on America.  


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Mr Trump, flanked by National Security Advisor John Bolton, took an axe to diplomatic niceties by making his views clear about Mrs May's policies


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Downing Street has been fearing that US President (pictured today) could publicly urge the PM to abandon her Chequers Brexit plans


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Theresa May was also at the NATO summit today and is returning to host Mr Trump in the UK. She tried to shrug off his criticism saying her plan 'absolutely delivers on the Brexit people voted for'
He said he told counterparts this morning that he was 'extremely unhappy' with the lack of progress being made towards meeting the alliance target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence. 
But he said that since last year around an additional 33 billion dollars, not including the US, had been raised and it was now 'unnecessary' to withdraw from the organisation. 
'The United States' commitment to Nato remains very strong,' he said. Mr Trump said Nato was 'probably the greatest' but the US had been paying between 70-90 per cent towards it. 

May warns Trump not to split NATO when he meets Putin

Mr Trump (pictured with Mrs May in Brussels yesterday) is due to arrive in the UK at lunchtime
Theresa May has delivered a stark warning to Donald Trump not to split NATO by appeasing Vladimir Putinwhen they meet in Helsinki next week.
The Prime Minister made clear she welcomes the 'engagement' between the US president and the Russian president on Monday.
But she insisted there must be 'unity and strength' in the military alliance and he must not skirt issues like the Salisbury nerve agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia.
The comments came as Mrs May struck a delicate balance at the NATO summit in Brussels ahead of a potentially turbulent visit by Mr Trump to the UK today.   
In remarks released by No10, she said that when it came to dealing with Russia, it was essential to do so from a position of strength underpinned by alliance unity.
'As we engage Russia we must do so from a position of unity and strength, holding out hope for a better future, but also clear and unwavering on where Russia needs to change its behaviour for this to become a reality,' she said.



Speaking in Brussels, he told reporters: 'Yesterday, I let them know I was extremely unhappy with what was happening and they have substantially upped their commitment.' 
NATOwas now 'much stronger than it was two days ago', he said. 'I believe in NATO,' he added.
He provoked anger in the UK earlier this week when he took a swipe at the 'turmoil' in British politics.
He also heaped praise on his 'friend' Mr Johnson - who had quit the Cabinet and plunged Mrs May's premiership into turmoil just a day before. 
And he said that his panned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday may be 'easier' than his rip to the UK.
No10 immediately tried to play down the comments - insisting they had taken them as 'humourous'.
But tensions between the two leaders over Russia and NATO threaten to cast a shadow over the trip.
The PM delivered a stark warning to Mr Trump not to split NATO by appeasing Mr Putin when they meet in Helsinki next week.
The Prime Minister made clear she welcomes the 'engagement' between the US president and the Russian president on Monday.
But she insisted there must be 'unity and strength' in the military alliance and he must not skirt issues like the Salisbury nerve agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia.   
In remarks released by No10, she said that when it came to dealing with Russia, it was essential to do so from a position of strength underpinned by alliance unity.
'As we engage Russia we must do so from a position of unity and strength, holding out hope for a better future, but also clear and unwavering on where Russia needs to change its behaviour for this to become a reality,' she said.
In London, Scotland Yard is braced for some of the biggest protests in living memory as tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to pour into London to vent their fury at the President.
A giant baloon depicting Mr Trump as a baby in a nappy will be flown over the capital as part of the protest.
And activists from trade unions and the Labour grassroots group Momentum are expected to join the throng.
Demonstrators have vowed to try to keep Mr Trump up all night by gathering near the large US ambassadorial residence in Regents Park where he will stay tonight, with drums, pots and pans which they will bang. 
The police operation for his trip is expected to cost at least £8million.    


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The PM's Government has been plunged into turmoil by the shock resignations of David Davis (pictured left) as Brexit Secretary and Boris Johnson (pictured right) as Foreign Secretary
 

 'A lot of people like me there': Donald Trump shrugs off protest fears ahead of UK visit TODAY as 'ring of steel' forms for May summit and tea with the Queen 


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Donald Trump speaks in Brussels after forcing NATO members to up their spending by $33bn ahead of his trip to Britain today and shrugged any fears he had about mass protests
Britain is bracing itself for Donald Trump today as he brushed off mass protests over his red carpet visit and said: 'I think they like me a lot in the UK - they're great people'.  
The US President will meet the Prime Minister and Queen in a three-day visit and will land at Stansted Airport with First Lady Melania this afternoon for the start of his controversial trip.
Already waiting for him in the UK are up to 1,000 of his own staff and a giant motorcade led by his chemicals weapon-proof Cadillac nicknamed 'The Beast' as well as multiple helicopters dotted around the country. 
Before taking off for the UK he gave an extraordinary press conference in Brussels this morning after giving NATO leaders a bruising over military funding.
He was asked if he feared mass protests and said: 'I think it's fine. A lot of people like me there. I think they agree with me on immigration. I think that's why Brexit happened'. 
Despite not being an official state visit he will be treated to a Guard of Honour when he meets the Queen at Windsor Castle for tea tomorrow to ensure the US leader feels he is being treated with the appropriate level of pomp and ceremony.
There will also be a grand dinner at Blenheim Palace tonight - Winston Churchill's ancestral seat - as well as a lunch with Theresa May at her grand Chequers country residence in Buckinghamshire.
And he will stay at the US Ambassador official residence in Regent's Park, London, tonight, which has been surrounded by a ring of steel of new security fences and road barriers to prevent a terror attack.
Protesters have vowed to try to keep Mr Trump awake all night by creating a 'wall of sound' outside the US ambassadorial residence in Regents park where he will be staying tonight.
Demonstrators have been told to bring a long pots, drums and noisy plastic horns known as vuvuzelas as they descend on the central London spot from 5.30pm tonight.
Writing on the event's Facebook page, organisers said: 'Ahead of the main demonstration on Friday, we want to create a wall of sound to give him the (un)welcome he deserves. Bring your megaphones, whistles, pots and pans and anything else you can make noise with!'
Some 2,600 people have said they are 'interested' in going to the event, later today. 
On Saturday he will fly up to Scotland to play golf at one of his resorts and his son Eric landed in the family's 'Trump Force One' private jet at Aberdeen this morning.  


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Activists from Stand Up to Racism Scotland (SUTR) are already outside athe Trump Turnberry resort in South Ayrshire, ahead of the US president's arrival in the UK


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This giant and controversial Trump balloon showing the world leader in a nappy will be flying over London this weekend


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The Police Federation has hit out at the conditions officers are being forced to sleep in between shifts on the huge security operation (pictured) - saying they are worse than those afforded to prisoners
Protesters plan to follow him wherever he goes and 10,000 police officers have been drafted in to protect him - the largest number deployed since the 2011 riots. 
Today the US President described Britain as a 'pretty hot spot right now with a lot of resignations' and suggested his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday could be easier.  
And he made clear that he did not approve of the softer stance the PM has been advocating despite fury from many Tory MPs.
'Brexit is Brexit, the people voted to break it up so I would imagine that is what they'll do, but they might take a different route, I'm not sure that's what people voted for,' Mr Trump said, adding: 'They're great people - I just want them to be happy'.
He added: 'The EU better be careful. Immigration is taking over Europe'. 
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has allowed a group to fly a giant balloon showing Mr Trump as a baby in a nappy over the capital throughout his visit. 
Nearly every force in England and Wales has contributed officers to help with the massive mobilisation, the biggest since the 2011 riots.
The US President arrives after giving NATO leaders a tongue-lashing in Brussels over defence spending and controversial comments about Britain being in 'turmoil'. 


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Police are also guarding barriers installed at Blenheim Palace near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, where Donald Trump will dine this evening 


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Armed police are patrolling a new security fence now surrounding the US Ambassador's residence in Regent's Park
He said he got along with Theresa May 'very well', but suggested he might make time during his UK visit to speak with his friend Boris Johnson, who has just rocked her Government by resigning as foreign secretary.
It was 'up to the people' whether or not they want Mrs May to stay as Prime Minister, he added.   
The tight security surrounding the visit will attempt to avoid exposing Mr Trump to planned protests in central London.
His schedule involves a black tie dinner at Blenheim Palace tonight with US and UK business leaders and cabinet ministers, hosted by Mrs May.
Ahead of his arrival the PM said she would use the visit to 'forge a strengthened, ambitious and future-proof trade partnership' with the US after Brexit.
Mrs May said there is 'no stronger alliance' than the special relationship between the two countries and 'there will be no alliance more important in the years ahead'.
Hailing the two countries 'uniquely close partnership in the fight for democracy and global security' she also pointed to our 'unrivalled' trade and investment relationship. 
 

 'The commitment to NATO remains very strong': Trump claims victory and says he is NOT looking to pull out of the military alliance after spending pledges from other states
Donald Trump claimed victory today and pledged to stick with NATO after member nations agreed to step up their contributions.
At a hastily-scheduled news conference, Mr Trump pronounced: 'The commitment to NATO remains very strong.'  
The president told reporters in Belgium that he has 'no problem' with NATO now that member nations have agreed to spend 33 billion more on their defense. 
'We made a tremendous amount of progress today,' the American president said.
Trump attempted to calm fears in Brussels by promising that he's a 'stable genius' who will not change his mind once he leaves the summit. Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel had told reporters that Trump 'was in a good mood' but said he 'has Wi-Fi on the plane, so we will have to see in the end.' 
The U.S. president left an emergency session of NATO's top body to set the record straight in the international press before an afternoon departure.


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'What good is NATO?' asked Trump as he resumed his attacks on Germany and allies who are spending less than 2 per cent of their GDP on defense







 Mr Trump had made his position abundantly clear on spending by NATO members before he even arrived at the summit
'Yesterday, I let them know that I was extremely unhappy with what was happening and they have substantially upped their commitment,' a pleased Trump announced.
NATO devolved into chaos on Thursday as President Trump reportedly threatened to pull out of the organization if countries refuse to meet not only a 2 percent spending commitment but double it to four.
Trump reportedly told leaders the U.S. would go it alone if NATO nations do not step up their contributions. 
The U.S. president headed into his second day of NATO talks determined to convince fellow world leaders that they must hike the organization's defense spending levels.
Trump said once again that the United States is paying far too much for their collective security and that all nations, especially the wealthy ones, need to jack their contributions up.
'On top of it all, Germany just started paying Russia, the country they want protection from, Billions of Dollars for their Energy needs coming out of a new pipeline from Russia,' he tweeted. 'Not acceptable! All NATO Nations must meet their 2% commitment, and that must ultimately go to 4%!' 
Trump will spend hours with world leaders behind closed doors before departing Brussels on Thursday afternoon for a two-day swing through the U.K.
The president who championed the 'Art of the Deal' indicated that he was ready for battle in the morning by dashing off new tweets that were critical of NATO's defense position. 
Instead of asking allies to meet an uncontested 2 per cent goal that they agreed in 2014 to reach by 2024, Trump said they need to plan for 4 percent.
Addressing one of his own weaknesses, an alleged entanglement between his presidential campaign and Russia, Trump said that NATO allies should look in the mirror and consider what they might to differently to protect themselves from Vladimir Putin.
'Presidents have been trying unsuccessfully for years to get Germany and other rich NATO Nations to pay more toward their protection from Russia. They pay only a fraction of their cost. The U.S. pays tens of Billions of Dollars too much to subsidize Europe, and loses Big on Trade!' he complained.   

[size=34]1,000 staff, helicopters, planes and his bomb-proof 'Beast': The incredible entourage following Donald Trump to Britain [/size]

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Two Boeing C17 Globemastet US Air Force planes delivered part of the Presidential Motorcade at Prestwick Airport, South Ayrshire, ahead of the visit of US President Donald Trump
Donald Trump will be accompanied by as many as 1,000 staff, a motorcade and multiple helicopters during his UK trip.
Here is what the presidential entourage is made up of:
- Air Force One
The US leader will emerge from Air Force One - one of two specially modified Boeing 747-200s.
The luxurious aircraft, carrying the tail codes 28000 and 29000, are highly customised and can act as a mobile command centre in the event of an attack on the United States.
The words 'United States of America', the Seal of the President of the United States and the American flag are all visible on the outside of the plane, making it instantly recognisable.
The aircraft has 4,000 square feet of floor space, including a Presidential suite with a large office and conference room, a medical suite that can be used as an operating room and two food preparation galleys that can feed 100 people at a time.
Overseas trips see additional staff and security flown over on an Air Force C-32, which is a modified Boeing 757.
- The Beast
The presidential motorcade, which includes two identical limousines, nicknamed The Beast, and other security and communications vehicles, is brought across by Air Force transport aircraft.
The Beast is a seven-seat black armoured limousine which reportedly costs two million US dollars (£1.5 million) and is designed to give Mr Trump the ultimate protection.
It can be turned into a sealed panic room with oxygen tanks, night-vision camera and reinforced steel plating said to be able to resist bullets, chemical attacks and bombs.
The Cadillac has Kevlar-reinforced tyres and steel rims that can keep the vehicle moving even if the tyres have been destroyed.
Bottles of the president's blood type are carried on board in case of a medical emergency, and a satellite phone enables communication to be maintained from anywhere in the world.
As well as being able to defend the president, the car also features a host of attacking capabilities, such as a pump-action shotgun and a tear gas cannon.


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Several black Secret Service 4x4s took to the road with a police escort as part of the huge security operation
- Marine One
A number of presidential helicopters, either VH-3D Sea Kings or VH-60N White Hawks - which are known as Marine One when the president is on board - are also brought on overseas trips.
The Marine One helicopter is fitted with communications equipment, anti-missile defences and hardened hulls.
Staff and security personnel are ferried around in MV-22 Ospreys and CH-46s.
- Staff
Staff typically involved in an overseas trip include Secret Service post-standers, military communications specialists and White House aides.
The president has at his side at all times a White House doctor and one of five rotating military aides who carry the nuclear 'football' - equipped with communication tools and a book with prepared war plans.
There is always a group of 13 members of the press on such visits, including three wire reporters, two print reporters, four photographers, a three-person television crew, and a radio reporter.[/size]

Lol a double, nope it's her without the glasses you can tell. I think she may have had some work done when on health leave from her surgery. What else has she got to do she isn't doing much as a first lady.

She is probably there under force, he didn't like all the questions about where she was when she disappeared after her surgery. So she had too make an appearance on this trip one of the most important one's so far.

annemarie wrote:She is probably there under force, he didn't like all the questions about where she was when she disappeared after her surgery. So she had too make an appearance on this trip one of the most important one's so far.

In the photos they showed her jawline looked really different, but that could be anything from facelift to photoshop. I agree, it probably is her with him on this trip and he probably forced her to come. I just hope she makes him pay for it any way she can for as long as she can.

She sold her soul to the devil he is only paying so much. That would be as many loubs and designer crap she can buy.
I don't think he cares what she does as long as she performs as the dutiful first lady at times.
And pretends too at least like him you know hold his hand and smile at him. The money is not worth it not to me anyway.

Oh, come on. Does anybody really doubt that a reality show snake oil salesman with a base of blind and gullible non-thinkers for supporters, wouldn't pass off a double as his wife? It's all theater, folks. A production. Of course there's a fake Melania.

The real cheated-on, hates-his-guts, illegal immigrant of a paid-for trophy was probably ordered to attend, but refuses to do anything but the official events.

Do we think Soft Porn Barbie developed a sudden love for buttoned-up trench coats? The double has a similar, but different enough, body contour. And I'm just waiting for someone with facial metrics capabilities to scan the two women's faces. It would be fake news, though.

Our allies' heads of state should stop being so diplomatic with tRump. Call him out for every lie, display of stupidity, and bullying. tRump is a coward. He can't handle face-to-face confrontation. He looks tough because people let him get away with his nonsense, and smooth it over with niceties. Screw that. Call him out, right to his face, and watch him squirm like the scared little crybaby he is.

party animal - not! wrote:Well I wish all his soundbites were at the very least accurate!

As usual he's exaggerating and looking for headlines to outrage.

The fact that Germany only imports about 9% of its gas supply from Russia at the moment seems to be neither here nor there. He needs to look at how much other countries have to import too, except that most now are building up their green energy supplies so it is less necessary.

Not sure what message he's sending anyway when he's busy cosying up to Putin who undoubtedly has stuff on him.

We're all too polite aren't we? - only one person in any European government has corrected him in press conferences up to now. More is needed.

Gather he's just given an unscheduled press conference and repeated himself endlessly in really really short sentences......a bit like a child

PAN I watched that ridiculous press conference in real time this morning.  The cable news show I was watching ran it but the host kept interrupting Trumpster’s answers any time he lied so it could be made quite clear that he was lying and then the host clarified with the facts.  That conference was a complete farce. Meant only for his supporters who believe his BS.  I agree with you.  I think the press needs to hold Trump more accountable for his lies.  They all need to push back with facts whenever it’s necessary.
It’s a bit demeaning how the press clamors to get his attention .... call on me please. please.  He absolutely loves it!

That NATO conference was like Trump swaggering into a room, upending all the furniture, walking out and with a smile on his face saying nothing to see here. It’s all good.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5948581/Wife-Trump-aide-said-radio-women-Navy-shouldnt-serve-horny-submariners.html

[size=34]Wife of Trump's new communications chief had radio show where she said women in the Navy shouldn't serve with 'horny' submariners and flu pandemic was 'setup' to help drug companies[/size]

• 'Darla Shine Show' was broadcast on the Talk Radio Network in 2008 and 2009 
  
  
• She said of women sailors in one episode: 'What do you think is going to happen when you go on a submarine for 12 months with 4,000 horny soldiers?' 
  
  
• Darla Shine is also under fire for her now-deleted social media accounts, which defended racist behavior and promoted conspiracy theories on vaccines
  
  
• Darla Shine has also criticized the women who accused Roger Ailes of harassment, leading Megyn Kelly to attack her via twitter 
  
  

By EMILY GOODIN, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 17:57 EDT, 12 July 2018 | UPDATED: 17:58 EDT, 12 July 2018

    




The wife of new White House communications guru Bill Shine hosted a radio show in the late 2000s where she mocked victims of sexual harassment in the military and argued vaccines cause autism.
Darla Shine said of women sailors in one episode: 'What do you think is going to happen when you go on a submarine for 12 months with 4,000 horny soldiers?'
The 'Darla Shine Show' was broadcast on the Talk Radio Network in 2008 and 2009.


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Darla Shine, the wife of new White House communications guru Bill Shine, hosted a radio show in the late 2000s where she mocked victims of sexual harassment in the military and argued vaccines cause autism


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Darla Shine wrote the book 'Happy Housewives' in 2005 and starting a blog called, 'Darla Shine's Happy Housewives Club,' which featured recipes and household tips
Shine, in an August 2009 episode, declared herself a 'sexist' and said women serving with men in the military should expect to be sexually harassed, according to CNN, which listened to old episodes of her show.

'And why on earth would you fight to go on the submarine ship for months on end? You know there was just a story with these girls, these women who are upset that they are sexually harassed in the military,' Shine said. 'What do you think is going to happen when you go on a submarine for 12 months with 4,000 horny soldiers?
'I hate to say it, but it's true. They should not even be allowed. The top military should say, 'No way, you're not allowed.' But you know, the feminists have fought for these rights. It's so stupid. I don't know why anybody would want that.' 
In other episodes she suggested a flu pandemic was a 'setup' by the government to help drug companies and helped spread a rumor the Federal Emergency Management Agency was planning on rounding up those afflicted with swine flu and putting them in camps. 
She also called for the closing of all U.S. borders because of the swine flu. 
That isn't the only controversy behavioral getting attention since her husband was named President Donald Trump's deputy chief of staff for communications last week.
Darla Shine is also under fire for her now-deleted social media accounts, which features posts that defended racist behavior and promoted conspiracy theories on vaccines, according to Mediate, which took screen shots. 
'When will Al Sharpton demand [that] young black boys do the right thing?' she tweeted in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. 
She even tied together race and vaccine conspiracy theories. 
'1 out of 10 black boys has autism!' Shine tweeted in February 2016.




+3


Bill Shine, newly hired as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications, talks with White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and counselor Kellyanne Conway after President Donald Trump announced Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court
She also claimed that the 'biggest national security threat is autism!'  
Studies have shown there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control. 
Shine's accounts were deleted after the White House officially announced Bill Shine was joining the administration.
Darla Shine worked in television like her husband, who was a former executive at Fox News, before she left to be a stay-at-home mom.  
She wrote the book 'Happy Housewives' in 2005 and starting a blog called, 'Darla Shine's Happy Housewives Club,' which featured recipes and household tips. 
'I am proof that housewives don't lose their brain or their dreams after they give birth,' she wrote on the about page of her blog. 'The days of the housewife hag image are over.'  
The Huffington Post also reported that Darla Shine has lashed out at women, including Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly, who have accused the late Fox News chairman Roger Ailes of sexual harassment.
Bill Shine was forced out as co-president at the cable news network last May for his handling of sexual harassment scandals there. He has never been accused of harassment himself and has denied all wrong doing. 
Kelly took to her Twitter last week to blast Darla Shine after it emerged that she tweeted about the women who have accused Fox News execs of sexual assault.   
Shine insinuated that Kelly wasn't credible and claimed that the most harassment resulted at most to an 'awkward hug.'
'To Darla Shine - yes, it was indeed an 'awkward hug' between me (then a 2d year reporter) & my then-boss, the CEO Ailes,' Kelly said on Twitter last Thursday, sharing a link to the Huffington Post article.
'Especially when in his locked office he tried to make out w/me & then demanded to know when my contract was up after I shoved him off.' 
Darla was said to have been fuming when her husband was fired, believing that he would be accused of sexual misconduct himself. Bill Shine hasn't had any public allegations brought before him but he is named in several lawsuits as an enabler of the abuse.
'What a joke this is,' Darla wrote in a tweet, back in May. 'Bill Shine built #FOXNEWS everyone currently there knows he was never accused of sexual harassment but too afraid to speak up. So glad my husband isn't a liar. Karma gets everyone in the end.'

Mrs Shine is probably a Happy Housewife content with her own misogyny - because she has a vast staff! Love the way she's started a big row to publicise her show on the back of hubby's appointment. Subtle

What does it say when there’s almost always a similar thread that runs through every appointment made by Trumpster - either questionable character, integrity and/or qualifications?  In this case we can include the spouse.

True PAN.  Actually there’s nothing subltle about Mrs. or Mr. Shine.

It says the people he chooses too work for him came from under the same rock he did.

Looking at her reminds me of those girls in the '50s and '60s who were cheerleaders in high school and only went to college to land a man. "Frosted" teased up hair and too much makeup. Suicidal if they weren't engaged by graduation, and if they were they waved the ring around like a trophy - which I guess it was for them. Engaged, graduated and married within a year. Then they went around bleating about how great it was to be a housewife - more to convince themselves than anyone else. I guess Mrs. Shine is still trying.

Well, that Mr Trump, guest, is having a wonderful time running down Mrs  May, his host, on his trip to the  UK - and boy, is he being given stick for it from Parliament and journalists alike thank God


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44819466

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/44824856/donald-trump-it-s-called-fake-news

https://twitter.com/bbc5live/status/1017682521478320129

http://www.clooneysopenhouse.com/t8182p600-the-serious-side-part-5#252283

He apparently changed his tone. The article is too long too post.

[size=34]‘Whatever you do is OK by us!' President Trump BACKS Theresa May's Brexit vision and says US-UK relationship is 'the highest level of special' as he brands his own interview 'FAKE NEWS'[/size]

He had to! CNN report he has apologized to Mrs May.............

PAN - I think he had no choice. This wasn't a question of showing what a big shot he is, it was an exercise in personal rudeness that made him look crass and ill-bred (which he is!).

BYW: Rod Rosenstein just announced indictments of @13 Russians with ties directly back to Putin's government for interference in the '16 election. Can't wait to hear Trump's spin on this one. He'll probably say "I asked him and he says he didn't do it", just like he's been saying from day one. Putin owns him!

Yep, saw that. Delighted.

Also really pleased that Trump is being called out here - by women!! It just seems quite rare.

Hmm well I’m not so convinced that he meant it.  It seems like Trump wanted to blame ‘The Sun’ for not including the nice things he said about May in his interview.  Then he proceeded to call ‘The Sun’ fake news.  Unfortunately May let him off the hook to his face and blamed the press.  I suspect Trump knew what he was doing all along.  Good press or bad ... he loves the attention.  If he thinks all these media outlets are fake news then why does he talk to them at all?  He should just stick to Fox News.  

I also understand that he and Melania kept the Queen waiting for tea.  He’s so damn arrogant.

Wonder if the Rosenstein announcement today wasn’t strategically timed in advance of the Putin meeting on Monday.

Donnamaarie - Of course he didn't mean his "apology". It's all spin. Everything he does is spin. If it makes you feel any better someday he'll be pushing up daisies just like the rest of us. If there is a God, little Donnie will have a lot of explaining to do. She ain't gonna like what he's been doin'.

Rosenstein was asked about the timing of the announcement. He said it happened now because they finally had enough info for inditement. He also said he told Trump about it over a week ago.

PAN - Poetic justice that the loudest criticism is coming from women. I wish members of our government had half as much nerve. Keep it coming. He deserves a good ass whuppin'!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5951237/Pence-family-gas-stations-left-costly-environmental-legacy.html

[size=34]Taxpayers are billed tens of millions of dollars to clean up 85 bankrupt Pence family gas stations including one that is leaching cancer-causing chemicals into Columbus water table[/size]

• Collapse of Kiel Bros. Oil Co. in 2004 left more than 85 dirty sites in three states
  
  
• Vice president Mike Pence says he worked for the business starting from age 14 
  
  
• Brother, Greg Pence, was president of Kiel Bros. when the firm went bankrupt
  
  
• Taxpayers in Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois have to pay most of the clean-up bill
  
  
• Sites include one where solvents are leaking into the ground near an aquifer 
  
  
• Indiana's generous expenditure has led to claims about Pence family's influence
  
  

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and RORY TINGLE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 
PUBLISHED: 10:48 EDT, 13 July 2018 | UPDATED: 13:46 EDT, 13 July 2018

    


Cleaning up the environmental damage from a bankrupt chain of 200 gas stations run by the family of Vice President Mike Pence has already cost US taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, a new analysis revealed on Friday.
The collapse of Kiel Bros. Oil Co. in 2004 left more than 85 contaminated sites across Indiana and, to a smaller extent, Kentucky and Illinois, including underground tanks that leaked toxic chemicals into soil, streams and wells.
Indiana alone has spent at least $21 million on the clean-up thus far, or an average of about $500,000 per site, according to records obtained under public information laws. And the work is nowhere near complete.


+5


The collapse of Kiel Bros. Oil Co. in 2004 left more than 85 contaminated sites across Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois. Pictured: The tank of a Kiel Bros. facility in Indianapolis is torn down on December 11, 2017
The federal government, meanwhile, plans to clean up a plume of cancer-causing solvent discovered beneath a former Kiel Bros. station that threatens drinking water near the Pence family's hometown.

To assess the pollution costs, reporters reviewed thousands of pages of court documents, tax statements, business filings and federal financial disclosures, as well as federal and state environmental records for Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.
The total financial impact isn't clear because Indiana officials have yet to release cost figures for 12 contaminated areas. Other records are incomplete, redacted or missing.
The public clean-up of more than 25 former Kiel Bros. sites in Kentucky and Illinois - where officials have done a better job keeping costs down - has been much less expensive, totaling about $1.7 million.


Kiel Bros. has paid for only a fraction of the overall effort. In court documents, the company cited payment of $8.8 million in 'indemnity and defense costs,' but also noted that $5 million of that amount came from the states.
Indiana's Department of Environmental Management, which regulates gas stations, did not respond to a detailed list of questions.
Spokesman Ryan Clem said the agency is working to provide records requested under Indiana's public records law that could shed some light on how much former Kiel Bros. sites have cost the state.
Pence spokeswoman Alyssa Farah called the findings 'a years old issue' that the vice president has addressed before. She did not elaborate.


+5



Vice President Mike Pence (pic at the White House on Monday) turns nostalgic when he talks about growing up in small-town Columbus, Indiana, where his father helped build a Midwestern empire of more than 200 gas stations that provided an upbringing on the 'front row of the American dream'
In a statement, Pence's older brother Greg Pence - who was president of Kiel Bros. when it went bankrupt and is now running for Congress as a Republican - distanced himself from the clean-up costs.
'Greg Pence has had nothing to do with Kiel Bros since 2004. This is another attempt by the liberal media to rehash old, baseless attacks,' campaign spokeswoman Molly Gillaspie said.
The fact that the company stuck taxpayers with the lion's share of the clean-up bill rankles some observers, especially in light of the family's reputation as budget hawks critical of government spending.
The Pence family, especially Greg Pence, has 'some answering in public' to do, said A. James Barnes, an environmental law professor who served in high-ranking posts at the Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan.
Mike Pence, then a third-year congressman, lost more than $600,000 when the company went under.
He later became Indiana governor and now has assets worth between $532,000 and $1.13 million. Greg Pence, who is seeking the vice president's old congressional seat, has total assets worth $5.7 to $26 million.
Nearly a decade after going under, Kiel Bros. sites still ranked among the top 10 recipients of state money for such clean-ups in Indiana in 2013, the last year for which the petroleum industry has reliable spending data for the company.
That was out of more than 230 companies seeking clean-up money that year, including major gas station chains with a substantially larger presence in the state.
Founded as an oil distributor by businessman Carl Kiel in 1960, the company expanded into the gas station business. Pence's father, Edward, joined in the early years and, by the mid-1970s, rose to corporate vice president.
Mike Pence says he worked for the business - which mostly operated under the name Tobacco Road - starting at age 14.
But it was his brother who took over after Edward Pence's 1988 death and eventually became president.
By the early 2000s, Kiel Bros. was swimming in debt as industry consolidation and low gas prices stretched profit margins to the brink.


+5


The collapse of Kiel Bros. Oil Co. in 2004 was widely publicized, but the environmental cost less so. Pictured: A storage tank is torn down on December 11 in Indianapolis
The business racked up environmental fines and closed stores. In June 2004, Greg Pence resigned as the company filed for bankruptcy.
'The oil and gas industry changed rapidly in the 1990s and early 2000s, and many small, independent companies like Kiel Brothers were not able to survive,' said Gillaspie, Greg Pence's spokeswoman.
Not long after, Pence also resigned from the board of a local bank that loaned $16 million to the company.
He and Ted Kiel, whose father founded the company, had personally guaranteed the loans, promising to repay outstanding debts with their own assets, records show.
Ted Kiel settled. The bank fought Greg Pence in court and obtained a $3.8 million judgment, which he later settled for pennies on the dollar, according to records and interviews.
Gillaspie said Pence reached a 'satisfactory settlement agreement with all parties.'
Many of the gas stations were sold off and are still operating. But some sites were abandoned, including a graffiti-covered storage tank facility that once towered over an Indianapolis neighborhood.
Nearby residents cheered last December as a crew tore down the tank, which was sold by the company for $10 in 2005 and has been an eyesore ever since. The clean-up will cost an estimated $260,000 , according to the city.
Elsewhere in the city, business continues as usual at a gas station that has been in continuous state of clean-up since 1990.
Pictures taken in 1992 show standing pools of black sludge where two underground storage tanks were removed.
At the time, Greg Pence and state environmental regulators pledged to work together on the clean-up. Since then, it has become one of the most expensive Kiel Bros. sites, costing the state $1.7 million.
In the immediate aftermath of the bankruptcy, the state sought about $8.4 million from the company for clean-up and fines.
After a new Republican governor, Mitch Daniels, assumed office in 2005, the state dropped that claim, which had been filed under Daniels' Democratic predecessor, Gov. Joe Kernan.
The justification for the change is a matter of debate.
Citing the complexities of bankruptcy law, experts said there was no guarantee a judge would approve Indiana's claim.
'Bankruptcy court is the last refuge of environmental scofflaws,' said Pat Parenteau, a Vermont Law School professor who specializes in environmental and natural resource issues.
'This is one of the more fiendishly complicated areas of crossover between environmental law and bankruptcy law that you can imagine.'
But Tim Method, a former deputy commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, said the state's approach to business regulation changed abruptly with the new administration.
'Daniels felt we ought to work for business rather than be a hindrance,' said Method, who was among a handful of administrators forced out after Daniels took over.


+5


Cars drive part the former Kiel Bros. Oil Co site in Garden City, Indiana, which is now being used as a parking lot. Picture taken on June 26
Greg Pence wasn't out of work for long. Within months, Daniels appointed him deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Management, the same agency fighting Kiel Bros. in court.
Pence stepped down after only a few months, however, and returned to the petroleum business.
Daniels spokesman Jim Bush said the Pence family's political influence played no role in Greg Pence's hire. He declined to comment on the state's decision to drop its claim against Kiel Bros. in bankruptcy court.
For some families living near Columbus, the Kiel Bros. business left behind more than debt. They smelled oil in water drawn from private wells.
Nearly three decades later, the unincorporated area known as Garden City is a federal Superfund site, a designation reserved for the nation's most heavily polluted locations.
Investigators initially determined Kiel Bros. was the source of the oil, along with a plume of trichloroethylene detected decades ago under a gas station.
The chemical called TCE is a solvent used to degrease metal parts. The EPA says the plume is drifting toward the aquifer that is Columbus' primary source of drinking water.
State officials seesawed over whether the company was responsible for the TCE before concluding in 2002 that it was not.
'Why did we absolve the company that we think the problem started with?' said Kevin Butler, a former teacher whose father was one of the first to smell the oil.
'It just doesn't seem very logical that this problem would be centered to this area, and confined to this area, if it wasn't the responsibility of that company.'
Indiana has since spent more than $860,000 cleaning up the petroleum. The EPA estimates it could cost $320,000 to $1.6 million to take care of the TCE, which taxpayers will likely foot the bill for.
After Kiel Bros. filed for bankruptcy, more than 500 creditors sought more than $150 million from the company, with the state of Indiana filing one of the largest claims, records show .
In dropping its claims against the company for more than $8.4 million, state officials stated in a 2007 court filing that 'significant clean-up activity has occurred.' They also said they were 'satisfied' with the company's plan for future clean-up, which relied on the state paying much of the cost.
The decision likely made more money available for other creditors, including businesses the company was in debt to, said John A. E. Pottow, a bankruptcy expert and University of Michigan Law School professor.
'You don't normally drop your claims in a bankruptcy case, so that's kind of weird,' said Pottow. 'If I'm a creditor, I am elated if one of my peers drops their claim.'


+5


Kevin Butler looks at parts of a groundwater report, in Garden City, Indiana. The water in the home is pumped through a water-filtration system due to contamination from a local Kiel Bros. site
When an underground tank leaks, companies are liable for the damage, but Indiana has been especially amenable to using public money to pay for heavily contaminated soil to be excavated and for high-powered pumps to suck toxic liquid and vapor from the soil.
The state's payout limit was $2 million per site until Mike Pence signed a 2016 law as governor, increasing it to $2.5 million. In 2016, Indiana paid out nearly two-and-a-half times the national average per incident, according to records.
Historically, Indiana has been somewhat ambivalent toward environmental enforcement, said David M. Uhlmann, an environmental law and policy professor at University of Michigan Law School.
The decision to drop the court fight with Kiel Bros. could have been 'Indiana being Indiana,' Uhlmann said. But another plausible explanation 'is Pence and his family having outsized influence,' he said.
Farah, the vice president's spokeswoman, said Pence did not use his political position to gain favorable treatment for his brother or the company, saying any suggestion otherwise is 'simply not grounded in fact.'
Just outside the Pences' hometown, the state installed elaborate water-filtration systems decades ago at several homes and businesses that are closest to the service station above the chemical plume.
Mike Musillami, owner of a drive-in restaurant, said he's fortunate to have the equipment, which is maintained by state officials.
But many of his customers aren't as lucky, he said. They rely on bottled water or paper cartridge filters or simply take the risk of drinking from the tap without an elaborate filtration system.
'Long term, this cannot be good for them,' he said. 'These are people who are our daily customers. We want them around a long time.'
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5952647/Ivy-League-professor-accused-harassment-says-U-S-laws-biased-against-privileged-white-men.html

[size=34]Ivy League professor who 'sabotaged researcher's academic career after she refused to have sex with him' says U.S. laws are 'biased against privileged white men'[/size]

• Geert Bekaert and Columbia University are being sued for $30million
  
  
• Bekaert is a business professor at the Manhattan-based Ivy League school
  
  
• Enrichetta Ravina, a former researcher at the university, alleges harassment
  
  
• She says Bekaert sabotaged her academic career after she refused his advances 
  
  

By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 18:40 EDT, 13 July 2018 | UPDATED: 18:40 EDT, 13 July 2018

    


An Ivy League professor who has been accused of sexually harassing a female researcher says Americans are ‘p***ies’ and that U.S. discrimination laws are ‘totally biased against the “privileged white males”,’ it has been reported.
Geert Bekaert, a professor at Columbia University in New York, and his employer are being sued for $30million in a Manhattan federal court for alleged harassment of Enrichetta Ravina.
‘The laws in this country are screwed up and totally biased against the “privileged white males”,’ Bekaert wrote to a colleague.
Ravina, a former finance researcher at the university, claims Bekaert, who is 11 years older than her, made unwanted advances toward her beginning in September 2012, according to Poets and Quants.


+2


Geert Bekaert, a professor at Columbia University in New York, and his employer are being sued for $30million in a Manhattan federal court for alleged harassment of Enrichetta Ravina (above)
Ravina and Bekaert, who was her mentor, had been collaborating on academic research projects for more than two years at the time.

Bekaert then made repeated requests for her to join him for dinner, but she declined.
Eventually, she relented, although she made clear this was to remain a professional relationship.
Ravina said that at the dinner, Bekaert ‘asked me if I had a boyfriend and if I lived with him.
‘I said, “Look this is a dinner among colleagues and I appreciate our work together and want to continue to work together”.
‘He started laughing.’


After the dinner, Ravina says that Bekaert gave her a ride home in a taxi.
As she started to exit the taxi at her destination, ‘he put his hand on my back and slid it down,’ she claims.
‘I rushed out of the taxi.’
When she rejected his advances, Bekaert sabotaged her research and impeded her academic career, according to the lawsuit.
Ravina claims that Bekaert made it clear that she was required to yield to his sexual advances if she wanted her works published in academic papers.
When she notified administrators at Columbia University, they brushed off her complaints and blamed her for ‘flirting’ with Bekaert.
Ravina’s lawsuit alleges that Bekaert and Columbia are guilty of ‘gender discrimination, a hostile work environment, quid pro quo sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to promote, and wrongful discharge.’


+2


Ravina, a former finance researcher at the university, claims Bekaert (above), who is 11 years older than her, made unwanted advances toward her beginning in September 2012
Newly released emails show that Bekaert told his colleagues he felt he was the victim of a political culture that had drifted ‘to the left,’ according to the New York Daily News.
‘The lawyer I spoke to, a feisty 50-year-old, immediately told me that it was very clear I had been played and that the legal environment had gotten too far too the left and was getting abused left and right by people like Enrichetta,’ he wrote in an email to a ‘basketball buddy.’
The Belgian professor said that the lawyer was ‘a woman who immediately saw through the case and was on my side.’
Bekaert also says that the lawyer advised him not to work with women anymore given the climate.
‘She also suggested that in the current environment people in my position should simply not work with women anymore, too risky,’ his email said.
In the civil trial, Ravina’s lawyer cited Bekaert’s emails to colleagues which refer to her as an ‘evil b***h, a f*****g b***h, an unbelievable b***h, a damn evil b***h, an evil b***h in action, (and) an incredible mean b***h …’
Bekaert has denied the allegations.

He is just so rude, one they are late and then he walks in front of her not once but three time. Dude this is not your wife show some respect and manners. Then agin he doesn't have these so what would you expect.

Oh, you'll like this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elZgRIuD-ds

Nice headline: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/13/trump-leaves-london-after-wreaking-diplomatic-destruction

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/13/trump-leaves-london-after-wreaking-diplomatic-destruction



Trump leaves London after wreaking diplomatic destruction
US president was shielded from the public but causes havoc for Theresa May


David Smith in London
 @smithinamerica



 Queen Elizabeth II stands with Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, inside Windsor Castle. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA
[size=89]With wheels up on Air Force One, Donald Trump vanished into the skies above Stansted airport on Friday evening, bound for his luxury golf resort in Scotland and leaving a trail of diplomatic destruction in his wake.
The presidential hurricane had swept through southern England, uprooting protocols, rattling institutions and leaving politicians with a sense of whiplash. As the disrupter-in-chief’s MV-22 Osprey helicopters departed, Theresa May could be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief familiar to any sorely tested host.



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 Donald Trump and Melania Trump board Air Force One at Stansted airport on route to Scotland. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
This was a far cry from Bill Clinton strolling through Hyde Park during his presidential swansong or Barack Obama dropping in on a primary school in Newport. For Trump, making his first visit to the UK as president, there was no park and no school, no 10 Downing Street, no Houses of Parliament and no Buckingham Palace. Nor was this the state visit that May had promised when she dashed to Washington shortly after Trump took office. The tens of thousands of people marching in the streets of London might have had something to do with it.

Donald Trump backtracks on May comments and meets Queen – as it happened

 
Read more


Britain may have to humbly accept, however, that for Trump it was a mere stopover between hammering the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, at the Nato summit in Brussels and renewing his warm relationship with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, in Helsinki.
His day began at the US ambassador’s Regents Park residence, where some protesters had tried to generate noise to disturb his sleep – but he generally only gets four hours on a normal night. He tweeted early about elections happening in Florida, suggesting his mind was elsewhere.
First on his agenda, closed to the media, was viewing a joint military exercise at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Surrey. It was likely to offer the kind of spectacle known to appeal to Trump, who did not serve in the Vietnam war due to five draft deferments but was wowed by a military parade on Bastille Day in Paris and is considering a similar show of strength in the US.



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 Theresa May and Donald Trump pose for a photograph at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Photograph: Corporal Ben Beale/AFP/Getty Images

It was also the scene of a potentially awkward encounter with May following the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun’s publication of an interview in which the US president said the prime minister had ignored his advice on Brexit and that her approach could scupper plans for a separate UK-US trade deal.
“She’s a total professional because when I saw her this morning I said, ‘I want to apologise because I said such good things about you’,” Trump said later. “She said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s only the press’. I thought that was very professional.”
Trump and May later travelled to Chequers, the prime minister’s country retreat, 40 miles from London. They held one-on-one talks, a working lunch and a joint press conference, where the president was in characteristically mercurial mood.
He claimed that the Sun’s article was “generally fine” but omitted his positive comments about May. “It’s called fake news,” he said, insisting that May was an “incredible woman … doing a fantastic job”.


[/size]

 Key moments from Trump and May's joint press conference – video
Asked about claims that May ignored his advice, Trump said: “I gave her a suggestion, not advice, I wouldn’t want to give her advice, I’d give her a suggestion. I can fully understand why she thought it was a little bit tough and maybe someday she will do that - if they don’t make the right deal, she might very well do what I suggested that she might want to do.”
As for Brexit, he said “whatever you do is OK with me” but warned: “Just make sure we can trade together.” Trump described the UK-US relationship as the “highest level of special”.

The Guardian view on Donald Trump in Britain: this was the visit from hell



May put a brave face on the embarrassment and presented Trump with an illustrated ancestral chart detailing his Scottish heritage, dating to the birth of his great-great-great grandfather in 1776, when the US declared independence from Britain. Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born on the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides and the chart was decorated with the MacLeod family crest and its tartan.
May and her husband Philip gave Melania Trump a custom-made perfume called The First Lady, presented in a bottle engraved with her initials and provided by J Floris Ltd, which has also made products believed to have been used by Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana.



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 Donald Trump with the Queen at Windsor Castle. Photograph: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Then it was on to Windsor Castle for an audience with the Queen. On a red carpeted dais under a white tent, the monarch smiled generously as she shook the hands of Trump and his wife, then all three stood for the American national anthem. Trump walked side-by-side with the Queen as they inspected the busby-wearing Coldstream guards.


Women lead day of angry London protests against Donald Trump

 
Read more


He was appreciably less tactile with the 92-year-old sovereign than with other heads of state, some of whom have elicited a frenzy of backslaps, grabs and prolonged handshakes. He is the 12th US president to meet the Queen but the first to have publicly boasted about groping women.
The verbal scattergun president then took tea with the famously discreet monarch, though not Prince Philip, who is less famously discreet. It is not known what they discussed but the recent arrival of an American, Meghan Markle, in the royal family might have been one topic.
Organisers had succeeded in shielding Trump from the public. The 20-foot Trump Baby blimp, clutching a mobile phone and wearing a giant nappy, took flight over the Houses of Parliament. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of London, cheering, drumming and the banging of pots and pans. There were placards including: “Golden towers & golden showers”, “We shall overcomb”, “Big orange twat” and “This crowd is bigger than your inauguration crowd.”





 From drag queens to rappers: up close with the UK's anti-Trump protesters - video

Outside the new US embassy in south-west London – mentioned in a Trump tweet last January in which he said he cancelled a trip to London because it represented a “bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!” – Robin Colette, 42, was a lone protester with a banner spread on the floor. “Too childish to have a phone let alone a presidency,” it said.
Colette, a pensions administrator from Croydon, explained: “He’s an arse in every way possible. He’s not a role model. He’s against women, he’s a racist. He’s every bad thing you can think of. I’m more afraid of him than of anyone else in the world.”
Would Trump heed the protests? “I’m not sure he’s capable of empathy,” he said. “He’s too thick skinned. But I hope America sees how he’s viewed by the rest of the world and think, ‘We can do a little bit better’.”

We do,we do! Reading the quote from Robin Colette above. 

I was so proud of our Brit friends for their spectacular protest yesterday.  I was so proud to hear the comments from some of the protesters.  Their distain is our distain.  Unfortunately we have to live with this idiot every day.

I don’t know when we will be able to get rid of him but it can’t come soon enough!  This is the most calamitous presidency in American history ...

Well, he's been booed on the golf course today and people have dressed up as handsmaidens!

And this is very interesting - in that it's all lies.

https://twitter.com/BBCScotlandNews/status/1018117631335895040

Brits will always been challenging in their questioning - largely not hindered by advert breaks and sponsors - and the Sun have denied that his 'correction' of their piece exists - the notes are online

PAN, he has set up his fake news rhetoric all along to cover him whenever he lies.  It’s astonishing.  I’m convinced he could murder someone and get away with it .... at least with his supporters 100%.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5956059/Trump-calls-European-foe-says-Russia-foe-certain-respects.html

[size=34]Trump calls the European Union a 'foe' but says Russia is only a 'foe in certain respects' as he heads to Helsinki for summit with Vladimir Putin following indictment of 14 Russians[/size]

• President Trump spoke to CBS following Friday's indictment of 14 Russians
  
  
• He called the European Union a 'foe' and mentioned trade
  
  
• He said Russia was a foe 'in certain respects' 
  
  
• He blamed the Democratic Party for having weak defenses against hacking
  
  
• Said from his golf course that they should be 'ashamed'
  
  
• Says Republicans had better defenses
  
  
• Trump during the campaign invited Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's emails 
  
  
• Says 'nothing bad' will come out of his summit with Vladimir Putin 
  
  
• Trump tweeted from Scotland about Friday's stunning indictments
  
  
• Latest tweet, third on issue today, saw him double down on criticism of Obama
  
  
• Said hacking nothing to do with him as it did not happen when he was in power
  
  
• Justice Department charged 12 Russians with conspiring to influence election
  
  
• Accused of hacking Democratic Party and Clinton emails then releasing them 
  
  
• Accessed emails by creating fake profiles and paid for the efforts with bitcoin 
  
  
• One hack happened same day Trump asked Russians to 'look at Clinton's emails' 
  
  

By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN HELSINKI
PUBLISHED: 10:39 EDT, 15 July 2018 | UPDATED: 15:12 EDT, 15 July 2018

    

• [email=?subject=Read%20this:%20Trump%20calls%20the%20European%20Union%20a%20%27foe%27%20but%20says%20Russia%20is%20only%20a%20%27foe%20in%20certain%20respects%27%20as%20he%20heads%20to%20Helsinki%20for%20summit%20with%20Vladimir%20Putin%20following%20indictment%20of%2014%20Russians&body=Trump%20calls%20the%20European%20Union%20a%20%27foe%27%20but%20says%20Russia%20is%20only%20a%20%27foe%20in%20certain%20respects%27%20as%20he%20heads%20to%20Helsinki%20for%20summit%20with%20Vladimir%20Putin%20following%20indictment%20of%2014%20Russians%0A%0APresident%20Donald%20Trump%20called%20the%20European%20Union%20a%20%27foe%27%20in%20new%20language%20broadcast%20just%20as%20he%20took%20off%20from%20Scotland%20and%20headed%20to%20Helsinki%20for%20his%20summit%20with%20Russian%20President%20Vladimir%20Putin.%0A%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-5956059%2FTrump-calls-European-foe-says-Russia-foe-certain-respects.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top%0A%0A%0AMost%20Read%20Articles%3A%0A%0AUp%20close%20and%20VERY%20personal%20with%20The%20Donald%20on%20Air%20Force%20One%3A%20DailyMail.com%E2%80%99s%20PIERS%20MORGAN%20finds%20out%20what%20Trump%20really%20thinks%20of%20the%20Putin%2C%20Brexit%2C%20Kim%20Jong-Un%20and%20the%20Queen%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-5954517%2FPIERS-MORGAN-close-personal-Donald-Air-Force-One.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0A%E2%80%98My%20daughter%20is%20terrified%E2%80%99%3A%20Tearful%20Thomas%20Markle%20reveals%20concern%20for%20daughter%20Meghan%20who%20now%20has%20a%20%27pained%20smile%27%20as%20she%20struggles%20to%20cope%20with%20pressure%20of%20Royal%20Family%20who%20have%20frozen%20him%20out%C2%A0%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-5954993%2FThomas-Markle-claims-daughter-Meghan-struggling-cope-switch-TV-royalty.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0AMy%20deal%20is%20the%20only%20Brexit%20deal%20-%20wreck%20it%20at%20your%20peril%3A%20THERESA%20MAY%27s%20steely%20warning%20to%20Tory%20rebels%20AND%20those%20bully%20boys%20from%20Brussels%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-5954683%2FTHERESA-MAYs-steely-warning-Tory-rebels-bully-boys-Brussels.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0A]e[/email]
  

President Donald Trump called the European Union a 'foe' in new language broadcast just as he took off from Scotland and headed to Helsinki for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump made the statement in an interview with CBS News, mentioning the EU when asked to name who he considered the nation's biggest foe. 
'Well I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade,' Trump volunteered.
'Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union but they’re a foe,' Trump said.


+14


'I hadn't thought of that,' Trump said, asked about 14 Russians charged with hacking Democratic emails and disseminating them during the 2016 presidential election
Then Trump turned to Russia on the eve of his summit with Putin. 'Russia is a foe in certain respects. China is a foe economically, certainly they are a foe. But that doesn’t mean they are bad. It doesn’t mean anything. It means that they are competitive,' Trump said.

The 'foe' language follows his statement at the start of his trip that dealing with Putin would be 'easier' than with the tumult in the United Kingdom and the NATO summit in Brussels. 
At the summit, Trump went after Germany over a pipeline with Russia and over defense spending that fell short of a goal of 2 per cent of its GDP.
But Trump pointed to his family lineage to vouch for his fondness for Europe, having met Queen Elizabeth and attended the NATO summit. 
'No look at them all look, EU is very difficult. I want to tell you. Maybe the thing is most difficult – don’t forget both my parents were born in EU sectors today, okay? I mean my mother was Scotland, my father was Germany,' Trump said.



EU President Donald Tusk responded to Trump calling the EU a 'foe' on trade
European Union President Donald Tusk, who also brushed back Trump in advance of his NATO appearance, shot back immediately on Twitter.
'America and the EU are best friends. Whoever says we are foes is spreading fake news,' he said.
On the pipeline, he said: 'There’s a lot of anger. I also think it’s very bad for Germany. Because it’s like – what are they waving a white flag?' Trump said.     
In the interview, Trump said Democrats should be 'ashamed' for 'allowing' themselves to be hacked during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump blasted the rival party's computer security systems a day after he blamed President Obama for failing to deter what prosecutors say was a Russian conspiracy to interfere in the 2016 elections.






'I think the DNC should be ashamed of themselves for allowing themselves to be hacked. They had bad defenses and they were able to be hacked,' Trump told CBSNews from his golf course in Scotland.
'But I heard they were trying to hack the Republicans too. But – and this may be wrong – but they had much stronger defenses,' Trump said.
Trump pointed the finger at Democrats two days after the Justice Department indicted 14 Russians for taking part in a hacking conspiracy that targeted the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign staffers.
The indictment says they created cutouts and set up DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 accounts to dump embarrassing emails, and passed others on to Wikileaks. Trump informal advisor Roger Stone admits he was in email contact with one of the Russians as spelled out anonymously in the indictment. 
'But we had much better defenses. I've been told that by a number of people,' Trump said. 'We had much better defenses, so they couldn't.' 


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Trump told CBS from his golf course that Democrats should be 'ashamed' for having gotten hacked, and blamed lax security
Asked whether he might push Putin to extradite the Russians so they could face trial, Trump, who has been accused of being to favorably disposed toward Putin, said he hadn't thought of it.
'Well, I might,' Trump Trump told CBS. 'I hadn't thought of that. But I certainly, I'll be asking about it.'
He defended his high stakes summit with Putin, but responded with no specifics when asked what his goal was.
'I think it's a good thing to meet. I do believe in meetings. I believe that having a meeting with Chairman Kim was a good thing,' Trump said.
'I think having meetings with the president of China was a very good thing. I believe it's really good. So having meetings with Russia, China, North Korea, I believe in it. Nothing bad is going to come out of it, and maybe some good will come out.' 
Trump fired off another response to the stunning indictment of 12 Russians for hacking the 2016 election by redoubling his criticism of Obama for failing to stop the behavior under his watch.
'These Russian individuals did their work during the Obama years, Trump tweeted on Saturday afternoon from his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland. 'Why didn't Obama do something about it? 
'Because he thought Crooked Hillary Clinton would win, that's why. Had nothing to do with the Trump Administration, but Fake News doesn't want to report the truth, as usual!'
Trump's third tweet on the issue today echoed another one he sent earlier on Saturday morning - his first reply since Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the latest indictments in Robert Mueller's investigation as Trump was meeting with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.
'The stories you heard about the 12 Russians yesterday took place during the Obama Administration, not the Trump Administration,' the first tweet read.
'Why didn't they do something about it, especially when it was reported that President Obama was informed by the FBI in September, before the Election?'
Scroll down for video. 


+14


President Trump (pictured with First Lady Melania Trump' arriving at Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Scotland on Friday) issued his first comment on the indictment of 12 Russians in a tweet sent on Saturday


+14


Trump's third tweet on the issue Saturday saw him doubling down on criticisms of the Obama administration that he made in the morning


+14





In two earlier tweets, President Trump said the alleged hacking took place under the Obama administration, not his own, and asked why the FBI had not taken possession of the Democratic Party's server 
Supporters of President Obama would resist Trump's insinuation that he was responsible for allowing the hacking to happen under his watch.
In October 2016, he took the unprecedented step of publicly accusing Russia of trying to meddle in the election, a month after he privately told Putin to 'cut it out'. 
A review into election meddling carried out two months after the result at Obama's request found intelligence agencies had 'high confidence' that Russia was responsible.   
Trump's second tweet on the subject on Saturday referred to the Democratic National Convention server that the Russians are said to have hacked.
'Where is the DNC Server, and why didn't the FBI take possession of it? Deep State?' he asked.
The 'Deep State' is a conspiracy theory that suggests high-level officials run a shadow government working against Trump.
Fired former FBI Director James Comey testified in January that the agency never gained access to the physical servers but were given the necessary data by the security firm CrowdStrike, which he said was an 'appropriate substitute'. 


Friday's indictment names 12 Russians as members of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU), which Rosenstein claims was involved in hacking and publishing emails from the Democratic Party and Clinton Campaign in a bid to undermine their election efforts. 
The email account of Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, was also targeted, it says.
The intelligence officers worked out of two Moscow locations: Unit 26165, located at 20 Komsomolsky Prospekt; and Unit 74455, based in a glass office block on 22 Kirova Street dubbed 'The Tower', according to the indictment.
The 29-page document says that in the months leading up to the November 2016 election, the Russians used fake usernames and phishing emails to locate emails that could be damaging to Clinton. Bitcoin was used to finance the effort.
Computer records related to at least 500,000 voters were also stolen, but no evidence has emerged that the election itself was compromised.
The indictment stresses that the GRU was part of the state machine, so its participation in hacking would indicate that Putin was closely involved in the effort.


+14




+14



Friday's indictment accuses the Russians of hacking into emails belonging to Hillary Clinton (left, in Pittsburgh on July 13). But Trump tweet noted that the alleged wrongdoing happened under the Obama administration. He is seen at the White House on June 26, 2015


+14


President Trump and President Putin talk during a photo session at the APEC Summit in Vietnam on November 11, 2017. Putin has denied meddling in the election when Trump raised it before

The indictment raises questions for President Trump's long-time confidante Roger Stone, who on Friday acknowledged communicating over Twitter messages with a user called Guccifer 2.0 - identified on the indictment as a Russian agent. Stone insists he did not know this at the time.
Trump's political opponents have accused Stone of being part of a plot to release material on WikiLeaks, pointing to statements he made in August 2016 suggesting he knew in advance what would appear on the website.
On August 15, 2016, the Russians wrote, according to the indictment: 'Thank u for writing back ... do u find anyt(h)ing interesting in the docs i posted?'
Two days later, the Russians added: 'Please tell me if i can help u anyhow ... it would be a great pleasure to me.'
In September, the Russians wrote again and referred to a stolen DCCC document posted online. 'What do u think of the info on the turnout model for the democrats entire presidential campaign.'
The person – assumed to be Stone - responded, '(p)retty standard,' according to the indictment.
Mueller's team is reportedly interested in whether Stone, his social media aide and his personal driver knew anything about hacked emails before they surfaced publicly.   
The new indictment names the defendants as: Viktor Borisovich Netyksho, Boris Alekseyevich Antonov, Dmitriy Sergeyevich Badin, Ivan Sergeyevich Yermakov, Aleksey Viktorovich Lukashev, Sergey Aleksandrovich Morgachev, Nikolay Yuryevich Kozachek, Pavel Vyacheslavovich Yershov, Artem Andreyevich Malyshev, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Osadchuk, Aleksey Aleksandrovich Potemkin and Anatoliy Sergeyevich Kovalev.
Mueller's team says the Russians used 'spearphishing' - a technique used to steal passwords or otherwise gain access to computers - throughout the summer of 2016 to hack individuals associated with the Clinton campaign.
One attempt noted in the indictment appeared to come hours after Donald Trump suggested Russians look for Clinton's emails.
On the morning of July 27, 2016, Trump gave a speech in which he said 'Russia, if you're listening,' he'd love to get a look at the thousands of emails Clinton had said she deleted from her tenure as secretary of state.
The indictment points to a hacking attempt that same day, saying that 'after hours' the Russians attempted to 'spearphish for the first time email accounts at a domain hosted by a third-party provider and used by Clinton's personal office.'
Around the same time, the indictment says, they targeted 76 email addresses at the Clinton campaign's domain. 


+14


This building, located at 20 Komsomolsky Prospekt, Moscow, was named in the indictment as a possible base for a shadowy operation known as Unit 26165, part of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU). It is pictured on Saturday


+14


Another building, on 22 Kirova Street, was also named as the headquarters of the GRU's Unit 74455. The intelligence agency dubbed it 'The Tower'. It is pictured on Saturday


+14


Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, tweeted on Friday that it was time to end Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the election since 'no Americans are involved' in the indictment


In all, the indictment says the Russians targeted over 300 individuals associated with the Clinton campaign, the DCCC and the DNC from March 2016 onwards.
Mueller's team say the Russian hacking operation was so precise that they were able to pinpoint specific computers within the House Democratic campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the Democratic National Committee that stored information related to the election.
They were able to search the computers for certain terms, like 'Hillary,' ''Cruz,' and 'Trump.' They also copied folders, including opposition research and field operation plans.
The Russians hid their involvement through fake email addresses and identities and a network of computers located around the world - including in the United States. Any financial transactions were made in bitcoin.
The website of a state board of elections were hacked to steal the information of roughly 500,000 voters, including names, addresses, partial Social Security numbers, dates of birth and driver's license numbers.
They also hacked into a national election vendor that supplied software used to verify voter registration information.
Federal officials have said state election sites in at least 18 states were probed by the Russians. 
The indictment adds county offices - specifically in Georgia, Florida and Iowa - to the list of election administration sites they allegedly visited 'to identify vulnerabilities.'
Department of Homeland Security officials have said there is no evidence of any election results being tampered with during the 2016 intrusions.
The White House said on Saturday: 'As Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said today: There is no allegation in this indictment that Americans knew that they were corresponding with Russians; There is no allegation in this indictment that any American citizen committed a crime; There is no allegation that the conspiracy changed the vote count or affected any election result.'
It continued: 'Today's charges include no allegations of knowing involvement by anyone on the campaign and no allegations that the alleged hacking affected the election result. This is consistent with what we have been saying all along.'

[size=34]REVEALED: The 12 shadowy Russian military intelligence officers charged with sophisticated hacking of Hillary and the DNC campaign who will likely NEVER see the inside of a US courtroom[/size]

The 12 shadowy Russian military intelligence officers accused of hacking Democratic Party and Clinton Campaign emails were named in Friday's indictment. 
They are said to have belonged to an intelligence agency called the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU), of which Unit 26165 and Unit 74455 were engaged in hacking and then publishing secret documents.
The men, who may never face the inside of a US courtroom due to Russian reluctance to extradite them, were described in the indictment as follows:
Viktor Borisovich Netyksho 
Officer in command of Unit 26165, located at 20 Komsomolskiy Prospekt, Moscow, Russia. Unit 26165 had primary responsibility for hacking the DCCC and DNC, and emails of individuals affiliated with the Clinton Campaign.
Boris Alekseyevich Antonov
Major in the Russian military assigned to Unit 26165. Antonov was Head of a Department within Unit 26165 dedicated to sending spearphishing emails and other computer intrusion activity, including to the Clinton campaign. 
Dmitriy Sergeyevich Badin
Assistant Head of Department of Unit 26165.
Ivan Sergeyevich Yermakov 
Assigned to Antonov's department within Unit 26165. Use various online personas including 'Kate S. Milton,' 'James McMorgans,' and 'Karen W. Millen,' to conduct hacking operations on behalf of Unit 26165.
Aleksey Viktorovich Lukashev 
Senior Lieutenant in the Russian military assigned to Antonov's department within Unit 26165. He used various online personas, including 'Den Katenberg' and 'Yuliana Martynova' and sent spearfishing emails to members of Clinton's campaign. 
Sergey Aleksandrovich Morgachev
Lieutenant Colonel in the Russian military assigned to Unit 26165. He oversaw a department within Unit 26165 dedicated to developing and managing malware.
Nikolay Yuryevich Kozachek 
Lieutenant Captain in the Russian military assigned to Morgachev's department within Unit 26165. Used a variety of monikers, including 'kazak' and 'blablabla1234565' and helped develop malware.
Pavel Vyacheslavovich Yershov 
Officer assigned to Morgachev's department within Unit 26165. He helped test malware. 
Artem Andreyevich Malyshev 
Second Lieutenant in the Russian military assigned to Morgachev's department within Unit 26165. He used a variety of monikers, including 'djangomagicdev' and 'realblatr' and helped monitor malware.
 Aleksandr Vladimirovich Osadchuk
Colonel in the Russian military and the commanding officer of Unit 74455. Unit 74455 was located at 22 Kirova Street, Khimki, Moscow, a building referred to within the GRU as the 'Tower.' Unit 74455 assisted in the release of stolen documents through the DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 personas, the promotion of those releases, and the publication of anti-Clinton content on social media accounts operated by the GRU. 19. 
Aleksey Aleksandrovich Potemkin 
Officer in the Russian military assigned to Unit 74455 as a supervisor.        
Anatoliy Sergeyevich Kovalev
Officer assigned to Unit 74455.




The President has golf scheduled at Turnberry on Saturday but advisers also said he would prepare for his Monday summit with President Putin, who according to the FBI ordered the hacking campaign.
Trump has repeatedly expressed skepticism about Russian involvement in the hacking while being accused by Democrats of cozying up to Putin. Trump, hours before the indictment was made public, complained about the Russia investigation hours, saying the 'stupidity' was making it 'very hard to do something with Russia.'
The Kremlin denied anew that it tried to sway the election. 'The Russian state has never interfered and has no intention of interfering in the U.S. elections,' said Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov.
The indictment identifies the defendants as officers with Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, also known as GRU. If that link is established, it would shatter the Kremlin denials of the Russian state's involvement in the U.S. elections, given that the GRU is part of the state machine.
The Russian defendants are not in custody, and it is not clear they will ever appear in an American court.


+14


In October 2016 Wikileaks published emails stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, material now known to have been stolen by the Russian hackers


+14




+14



'Guccifer 2.0' and 'DCleaks' were fronts for the Russian intelligence operation, brazenly announcing when their hacked materials would be going online and sending readers to WikiLeaks to find some of what they stole
The charges come as Mueller continues to investigate potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. Before Friday, 20 people and three companies had been charged in the investigation.
Defendants include four former Trump campaign and White House aides, three of whom have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate, and 13 Russians accused in a powerful social media campaign to sway U.S. public opinion in 2016.
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, tweeted on Friday that it was time to end the investigation since 'no Americans are involved' in the indictment. But with Mueller still investigating, it's not known whether further indictments are taking shape or will.

[size=34]What the DOJ's indictment of 12 Russians tells us about their attempts to influence the 2016 election and how close to Trump Mueller has got[/size]

The indictment of a dozen military intelligence officers for hacking Democratic Party and Clinton Campaign emails in an effort to sway the 2016 election throws light on a sophisticated operation believed to have close links to Putin.
The Russians stand accused of stealing the Democrats secret files, taking snapshots of their screens, and using fake emails to dupe Clinton staffers into exposing their passwords before releasing this stolen information to the world.
Here's a look at the main points mentioned in the indictment:
THE HACKING WAS CONNECTED TO THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT 
The indictment said Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff - known as GRU - had multiple units that 'conducted large scale cyber operations' to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
One of the units was based on an unassuming side street in the Moscow suburb of Khimki, in a building referred to within the GRU as the 'Tower,' according to the indictment. Another was based near central Moscow, not far from Defense Ministry headquarters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently asserted that Russia was not involved in the hacking or any attempt to interfere with U.S. elections. 
But GRU is part of the state machine, and their participation would indicate that Putin was closely involved in the effort.
THE HACKING WAS A SOPHISTICATED OPERATION
According to the indictment, the Russian hacking operation was so precise that they were able to pinpoint specific computers within the House Democratic campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the Democratic National Committee that stored information related to the election. 
They were able to search the computers for certain terms, like 'Hillary,' ''Cruz,' and 'Trump.' They also copied folders, including opposition research and field operation plans.
The Russians hid their involvement through fake email addresses and identities and a network of computers located around the world - including in the United States. They paid for their infrastructure using cryptocurrency.
TRUMP ASKED THE RUSSIANS TO HACK CLINTON - AND THEY DID
The indictment says the Russians used 'spearphishing' - a technique used to steal passwords or otherwise gain access to computers - throughout the summer of 2016 to hack individuals associated with the Clinton campaign.
One attempt noted in the indictment appeared to come hours after Donald Trump suggested Russians look for Clinton's emails. 
On the morning of July 27, 2016, Trump gave a speech in which he said 'Russia, if you're listening,' he'd love to get a look at the thousands of emails Clinton had said she deleted from her tenure as secretary of state.
The indictment points to a hacking attempt that same day, saying that 'after hours' the Russians attempted to 'spearphish for the first time email accounts at a domain hosted by a third-party provider and used by Clinton's personal office.' 
Around the same time, the indictment says, they targeted 76 email addresses at the Clinton campaign's domain.
In all, the indictment says the Russians targeted over 300 individuals associated with the Clinton campaign, the DCCC and the DNC.
THE RUSSIANS COMMUNICATED WITH A TRUMP-AFFILIATED PERSON
The indictment does not allege that that any Americans, including Trump campaign officials, were knowingly in contact with Russian intelligence officers. 
But it does say that Russians wrote to an unnamed person 'who was in regular contact with senior members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump.'
On August 15, 2016, the Russians wrote, according to the indictment: 'thank u for writing back ... do u find anyt(h)ing interesting in the docs i posted?'
Two days later, the Russians added, 'please tell me if i can help u anyhow ... it would be a great pleasure to me.'
In September, the Russians wrote the person again and referred to a stolen DCCC document posted online. 'What do u think of the info on the turnout model for the democrats entire presidential campaign.'
The person responded, '(p)retty standard,' according to the indictment.
THE RUSSIANS STOLE VOTER INFORMATION
The indictment says the Russians hacked the website of a state board of elections and stole the information of roughly 500,000 voters, including names, addresses, partial Social Security numbers, dates of birth and driver's license numbers. 
They also hacked into a national election vendor that supplied software used to verify voter registration information.
Federal officials have said state election sites in at least 18 states were probed by the Russians. The indictment adds county offices - specifically in Georgia, Florida and Iowa - to the list of election administration sites they allegedly visited 'to identify vulnerabilities.'
Department of Homeland Security officials have said there is no evidence of any election results being tampered with during the 2016 intrusions.
 




Special Counsel indictment of 12 Russian GRU agents uploaded by DailyMail.com on Scribd

Apparently Mueller is getting too close to home. Maybe they should drop the collusion investigation and go for treason instead.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44838028

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Theresa May: Trump told me to sue the EU
15 July 2018
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Media captionTheresa May reveals the advice President Trump gave her over Brexit
Donald Trump told Theresa May she should sue the EU rather than negotiate over Brexit, she has told the BBC.

The US president said on Friday at a joint news conference he had given Mrs May a suggestion - but she had found it too "brutal".

Asked by the BBC's Andrew Marr what he had said, she replied: "He told me I should sue the EU - not go into negotiations."

It came as another government member resigned over her Brexit plans.

Robert Courts said he quit as a parliamentary private secretary - an unpaid ministerial aide - at the Foreign Office to "express discontent" with Mrs May's policy before key Brexit votes on Monday.

"I had to think who I wanted to see in the mirror for the rest of my life," he said in tweet.

He could not tell his constituents he supported Mrs May's proposals "in their current form," he added.

Mr Courts replaced David Cameron as the Conservative MP for Witney, Oxfordshire in 2016.

PM warns party not to put Brexit at risk
Trump: US-UK trade deal 'absolutely possible'
Why the EU is silent on May's Brexit plan
Defending her Brexit blueprint on the Andrew Marr show, the prime minister said it would allow the UK to strike trade deals with other nations, end free movement of people, and end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

A White Paper published on Thursday fleshed out details of her plan, which advocates close links with the EU on trade in goods, but not services.

Before the paper was published, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson resigned, along with several junior government figures, saying it would not deliver the Brexit people voted for in the 2016 referendum.


Media captionPrime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump hold a joint press conference at Chequers
Mrs May laughed off the president's legal action suggestion, but added: "Interestingly, what the president also said at that press conference was 'don't walk away'.

"Don't walk away from those negotiations because then you'll be stuck. So I want us to be able to sit down to negotiate the best deal for Britain."

Donald Trump declined to spell out what his advice to Mrs May had been, in an interview with US TV network CBS, but added: "Maybe she'll take it, it's something she could do if she wanted to.

"But it was strong advice. And I think it probably would have worked."

Ahead of his meeting with Mrs May, Mr Trump told the Sun newspaper her Brexit proposals would "probably kill" a trade deal with his country.

But hours later he said a US-UK trade deal would "absolutely be possible".


Media captionJacob Rees-Mogg tells the BBC the prime minister's Brexit plan goes against promises she made
Leading Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has called the White Paper a "bad deal for Britain".

He told the BBC's Sunday Politics: "The government unfortunately believes that Brexit is not a good thing in itself, it seems to think it has to be tempered by non-Brexit."

He said Mrs May, who campaigned to keep Britain in the EU in the 2016 referendum, had failed to grasp the "enormously positive" opportunities offered.

He described her as a "Remainer who has remained a Remainer".

He also said she would have to change her policy in order to get it through Parliament, without having to rely on Labour votes.

Mrs May urged Brexiteers in her own party to "keep their eye on the prize" of Brexit - and said her plan was the only workable way to deliver it.

'Very difficult to bring an action'
Image copyrightEPA
Analysis by BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman

Frankly, it is difficult to see any grounds for the UK suing the EU.

Like any other member state, the UK can sue the EU in relation to any specific measure it has taken which breaches EU law.

Such action would be heard at the European Court of Justice, the ultimate arbiter of EU law.

An example would be if the UK was denied agricultural subsidies, or structural funds to which it was entitled under EU law.

The Conservative government of David Cameron successfully sued when the European Central Bank said it would only license financial institutions within the Eurozone as clearing houses for transactions in euros.

The UK and the EU have not reached a Brexit agreement yet, so there can be no action for breach of that agreement.

Parties to a negotiation are under what are known as "procedural duties" - for instance, to act in good faith.

But it is very difficult to bring an action, within a negotiation, on that basis. Some would say that even attempting to do so would seriously harm the negotiation.

Mrs May's message comes ahead of crucial Commons votes on trade and customs policy in the coming week, with Tory Brexiteers tabling a series of amendments to the legislation.

Mr Rees-Mogg said he was not expecting either the Customs Bill or the Trade Bill to be voted down at this stage. There are also likely to be amendments tabled by Remain supporting MPs.

Reality Check: What does the Brexit White Paper reveal?
Commons Brexit battles previewed
Mrs May told Andrew Marr: "Some people are saying they want to vote in the Trade Bill to keep us in the customs union. I say that's not acceptable, that's not what the British people voted for.

"Others are saying that perhaps we cannot have the bill at all. That would be damaging to our 'no deal' preparations.

"So let's just keep our eyes on the prize here. The prize is delivering leaving the European Union in a way that's in our national interest."


Media captionTheresa May faced questions on Brexit, leadership and President Trump
Mrs May insists her plans would allow the UK to strike its own trade deals, despite agreeing a "common rulebook" with the EU on cross-border trade.

She said such rules were needed to protect jobs in firms with supply chains that crossed borders and deal with the Irish border issue.

Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery said Mrs May's "so-called plan" did not "stand up to scrutiny".

"No-one - not the public, Parliament or the Conservative party - is happy with Theresa May's offer. This has descended into a shambles," he said.

Labour MP Ian Murray, a member of the People's Vote campaign, said the British people needed a vote on the final deal.

Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson said it was not the party's policy to back another referendum - but said it should not be ruled out.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5957753/Trump-begins-big-Putin-summit-day-bashing-Rigged-Witch-Hunt-Crooked-Hillary.html

[size=34]Trump begins his Putin summit day by bashing U.S. 'foolishness and stupidity' on Russia – as he rails against the 'Rigged Witch Hunt' and 'Crooked Hillary' but reassures: 'We'll do just fine'[/size]

• President Trump is in Helsinki Monday for his summit with Vladimir Putin
  
  
• He meets the Russian president for 90 minutes one-on-one
  
  
• He began Monday by bashing the Mueller probe
  
  
• The Justice Department indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers Friday 
  
  
• He went after U.S. 'foolishness and stupidity' dealing with Russia 
  
  
• Trump earlier vented that no matter how well he does he won't be appreciated
  
  
• Said that would apply even if 'I was given the great city of Moscow'
  
  
• Blasted the media as the 'enemy of the people,' a term used in Soviet times 
  
  
• The shots came after indictments of 12 Russian spies accused of election hack conspiracy  
  
  
• Trump said in an interview taped Saturday of his meeting with Putin: 'I go in with low expectations' 
  
  
• He called the European Union a 'foe' on trade 
  
  
• There is no clear agenda for Monday's meeting and no 'deliverables' agreed to  
  
  
• Foreign policy experts worry the president will promise concessions to Putin
  
  
• Trump could pledge to ease sanctions or cut U.S. military exercises in Europe 
  
  
• He golfed his Scottish course for a second day on Sunday
  
  

By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN HELSINKI
PUBLISHED: 02:13 EDT, 16 July 2018 | UPDATED: 03:55 EDT, 16 July 2018

    



President Donald Trump began the day of his high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin by tweeting about 'Crooked Hillary' Clinton and the 'Rigged Witch Hunt' – and claiming President Obama thought Russian meddling was 'no big deal.' 
But after stirring up yet another confrontation on the eve of a major diplomatic encounter, Trump reassured the world at the top of a breakfast with the Finnish president: 'We'll do just fine.'  He added, after raising doubts about the cohesion of the U.S. military alliance set up to counter the old Soviet Union: 'NATO has never been more together.'
Facing criticism that he won't bring sufficient pressure on on Putin – who the U.S. accuses of overseeing a range of 'malign' activities – the president went after his domestic political opponents and U.S. investigators on Twitter. Hours later he is to meet one-on-one with Putin in a meeting that is scheduled to last for 90-minutes.
'Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!' Trump wrote.


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President Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived in Helsinki Sunday evening
Trump and Putin will then jointly address the press, in a summit meeting some observers are already calling a victory for Putin, who is looking to end Russian isolation following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

'President Obama thought that Crooked Hillary was going to win the election, so when he was informed by the FBI about Russian Meddling, he said it couldn't happen, was no big deal, & did NOTHING about it,' Trump wrote from Helsinki, where the summit is taking place Monday. 
'When I won it became a big deal and the Rigged Witch Hunt headed by Strzok!' he said, referencing the FBI lawyer who got grilled in Congress this week.



Trump called out U.S. 'foolishness and stupidity rather than Russia's own actions as the cause of poor relations


+21


Trump also lashed out at predecessor President Barack Obama and rival Hillary Clinton, whose staff is shown to have fallen under a Russia-directed hack attack in a new federal indictment


+21


Trump also went after the media and declared a 'truly great' NATO summit took place
Trump in another tweet returned to the issue of NATO, having berated Germany and other allies for not spending enough on defense. Trump proclaimed it a 'truly great Summit' – even as it put allied divisions on display.
'Received many calls from leaders of NATO countries thanking me for helping to bring them together and to get them focused on financial obligations, both present & future. We had a truly great Summit that was inaccurately covered by much of the media. NATO is now strong & rich!' Trump wrote.
The tweet came hours after a Sunday evening missive where he referred to the European Union as a 'foe.' 


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President Donald Trump, left, and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto talk on the balcony of Niinisto's official residence in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018 prior to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Finnish capital


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Jenni Haukio, wife of Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, talks to U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, on the balcony of Niinisto's official residence in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018 prior to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Finnish capital


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President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton and Robert Frank Pence Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Finland participate in a breakfast with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018
 It was unclear what 'foolishness' in U.S. policy Trump was referring to, or whether the statement indicated he would put new policy proposals on the table in Helsinki. Trump said repeatedly during the presidential campaign it would be better if the U.S. could 'get along' with Russia.
First up for Trump Monday and first lady Melania Trump is an official greeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and First Lady Jenni Haukio and a breakfast meeting. 
 Trump landed in Helsinki for his high-stakes summit with Putin Sunday after ranting that no set of concessions – no matter how large the consequences – would be good enough for media critics he branded the 'enemy of the people.'


+21


President Donald Trump arrived in Helsinki after blasting the 'enemy of the people' media, saying he wouldn't get a fair grade on his performance with Russian President Vladimir Putin
'Unfortunately, no matter how well I do at the Summit, if I was given the great city of Moscow as retribution for all of the sins and evils committed by Russia,' he said, 'over the years, I would return to criticism that it wasn't good enough – that I should have gotten Saint Petersburg in addition!'
Trump sent out the missive focusing about how his actions would be perceived in the press after indicating in an interview that he had low expectations for the summit and failing to articulate in an interview what his goal was. Earlier, he had attacked the European Union as a 'foe' in a broadcast interview that aired Sunday.


If he was planning to drive a hard bargain with Putin, a former KGB colonel with a grip on power in Moscow, he didn't show it. Asked in a broadcast interview about his goal for the summit, Trump replied: ''I'll let you know after the meeting.' 
As he arrived in the Finnish capital, Trump waived to onlookers and slowly descended the stairs of Air Force One. He was accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, who wore dark sunglasses and a long jacket for a historic summit that will put the president alone in the same room with the man accused of ordering a hacking campaign that targeted Democrats in the 2016 presidential election. 


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The president waived to greeters as he arrived in Helsinki


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President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Helsinki-Vantaa airport in Vantaa, Finland, July 15, 2018



+21


The first lady wore a white shirt and a long tailored jacket


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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in Helsinki after Trump blasted the 'enemy of the people' media, saying he wouldn't get a fair grade on his performance with Russian President Vladimir Putin

Putin will arrive basking in the glow of a successful world cup tournament that France won in a match Sunday evening local time while Trump was in the air. Trump congratulated Putin on the tournament in the same tweet where he celebrated the victorious French team.
Both Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron were on hand in the pouring rain to shake hands of the winning French teammates in St. Petersburg.  
Trump sent out the pre-spin amid fears from his political rivals that he would give ground to Putin, a strategic adversary to U.S. policy goals, having been criticized since the campaign for his refusal to criticize Putin. 
Among critics mostly on the left, Putin is sometimes described as Trump's 'handler,' and since Friday's indictments Trump has variously been described as an 'asset' or even an agent for Putin.
The president didn't do much to dissuade his rivals by piling on criticism of European allies. 
'Well I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade,' Trump volunteered to CBS when asked about his goal for the summit. 'Now you wouldn't think of the European Union but they're a foe,' Trump said.



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The president waived to reporters in advance of his meeting with Putin
Trump is meeting with a man he calls a 'competitor' but not an 'enemy.'
'He's been very nice to me the times I've met him. I've been nice to him. He's a competitor,' Trump said of Putin last at the NATO summit where he went after Germany. 'You know, somebody was saying, 'Is he an enemy?' No, he's not my enemy. 'Is he a friend?' No, I don't know him well enough,' Trump said. 
He has said he will raise the issue of election meddling – but also said he won't be 'Perry Mason' and try to extract a confession from Putin.
Trump's national security advisor, John Bolton, who is traveling with the president, said there were classified activities that he is not at liberty to talk about to deter interference in the elections going forward.
'I think it's very clear the president's determined that we're not going to have any outsider interfere with the integrity of our electoral process,' Bolton told ABC's 'This Week.' 
 On Air Force One, the president wrote in tweets that the media is nonetheless setting him up to fail, saying that 'much of our news media is indeed the enemy of the people' in a bombastic message that followed a gripe about North Korea shortly before that had ended with him calling the press 'fake news.' 





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President Trump set the tone for his Helsinki summit in tweets on Sunday morning en route to Finland


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President Donald Trump is heading to Helsinki after a weekend of golf for a closely-watched meeting with Vladimir Putin


+21


He and first lady Melania Trump are seeing taking off from Glasgow Prestwick


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The motorcade transporting President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump is seen on the road leaving Trump Turnberry golf resort on Sunday


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BYE BYE TRUMP: Local residents turned out to see the president leave in his motorcade in lights showers



Trump said all that Democrats 'know how to do is resist and obstruct! This is why there is such hatred and dissension in our country – but at some point, it will heal!'
The president only had kind words for Putin, saying he was 'looking forward to meeting' with him in one tweet, and asserting that the Russian leader had put 'on a truly great World Cup Tournament' in another.
Unlike his Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, where the president at least pushed for a denuclearization deal as he claimed that the meeting itself was an accomplishment, Trump has been hesitant to set any expectations for Helsinki at all.
'I go in with low expectations,' the president told CBS News. 'I'm not going with high expectations.'   
Sunday night he congratulated Russia on the eve of the summit
When CBS News asked him about his goals for his the meeting with Putin, Trump responded: 'I'll let you know after the meeting' and promised 'nothing bad' will come out of it.



EU President Donald Tusk responded to Trump's claim the EU was a 'foe' on trade



President Trump said he has 'low expectations' for his meeting with Vladimir Putin
Trump could promise to ease sanctions or cut U.S. military operations in Europe without consulting the State Department or the Pentagon. Moscow is under U.S. and international sanctions for its seizure of Crimea in 2014.
The president made a similar move in his meeting with Kim, where he announced the U.S. would cease a joint military exercise with South Korea - a major concession to Pyongyang and a surprise to the Pentagon and U.S. allies.  
Trump said Thursday if he could consider ending U.S. military exercises in the Baltic states. '
'Perhaps we'll talk about that,' he said.
Huntsman said Sunday that he doesn't expect any changes to the United States' position on Crimea.


+21


Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump talk during a break of a leader's meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Da Nang, Vietnam in November




+21


President Trump, who golfed in Scotland this weekend, has foreign policy experts worried he could offer concessions to Putin


+21


Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic during their talks at the Kremlin. She is in Moscow to watch the final game of the 2018 FIFA World Cup


+21


President Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had a goal of denuclearization
On Sunday on NBC, Huntsman insisted the meeting is not a summit, however.
Huntsman categorized it as a 'meeting' and claimed that the 'summit' characterization is wrong, even though he had also used the term.
On an on-the-record call with reporters in advance of Trump's trip to Europe, he'd said: 'I harken back to some summits that I've done before, all the way back to Ronald Reagan where I helped to prepare Reagan's first trip to China and Barack Obama's trip to China in 2009. And what is important in all these cases is dialogue. And this can take many forms. But what is important here is that we start a discussion.  
'We've had discussions on the margins of meetings -- Hamburg, G20, the APEC meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam, but this really is the first opportunity for a sit-down and to begin that very important dialogue, much the way we saw President Reagan do it with Mikhail Gorbachev, or Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev,' he said. 
Helsinki has been the site of other historic summits between the United States and Russia.
In 1975, 35 nations met there in an attempt to improve relations between the Communists and the West, signing The Helsinki Accords.
In March 1997, then-President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin met in Helsinki on security and economic issues. 
President Trump is approaching his Putin meeting with his typical confidence that his personality and instincts will give him the edge. 
Trump said that history of negotiations helped him get a read on Kim after he met the North Korean leader in Singapore. He told DailyMail.com in the Oval Office, that he'd been 'preparing' all his live and didn't need additional briefings.
The president prides himself on his ability to read people and often breaches diplomatic protocol in favor of one-on-one conversations. 
In July of last year, when Trump met with Putin at the G20 gathering, the meeting between the two men that was originally scheduled for 30 minutes went well over the two-hour mark. It ran so long that first lady Melania Trump was sent in to try and end it, although she failed in her attempt.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5958559/British-firms-trading-Iran-face-sanctions-WEEKS.html

[size=34]British firms trading with Iran face US sanctions within WEEKS as Trump rejects plea for exemptions after ditching nuclear pact[/size]

• Donald Trump pulled out the Iran nuclear deal in May after fiercely criticising it
  
  
• The EU lobbied the White House to exempt their companies from the sanctions  
  
  
• But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has rebuffed their pleas in a letter 
  
  

By KATE FERGUSON, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 07:18 EDT, 16 July 2018 | UPDATED: 07:19 EDT, 16 July 2018

    



British firms trading with Iran could be slapped with punitive sanctions within weeks after Donald Trump rebuffed their pleas for exemptions.
The US President pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal - which eased sanctions on Tehran in return for a stop to their nuclear programme - earlier this year.
The EU had lobbied the White House to exempt European companies from the hefty levies, which are set to be put on firms trading in the Middle East country.
But American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US rejected the appeal because it wants to exert the maximum pressure possible on Iran. 

Britain and the rest of the EU fear that billions of dollars' worth of trade could be lost because of the tough new measures.


+2


Donald Trump (pictured in Helsinki today) pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement in May this year - branding it the 'worst deal in history'


In a letter Mr Pompeo said: 'We will seek to provide unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime.  
It added that the US is 'not in a position to make exceptions to this policy except in very specific circumstances'.
The US President tore up the nuclear deal in May after branding it the 'worst deal in history'.
But Britain and other EU countries have tried to salvage the pact and said they are still committed to it.
Many British firms swooped in to do lucrative business with Iran  after the pact was signed in 2015. 


+2


Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured heading into No10 today) wants British firms to be exempted from the punitive sanctions looming. But America has rebuffed these requests 
In 2017, the EU exported £9.5billion worth of goods and services to Iran, according to the BBC.
But now British businesses are worried that their lucrative trade with the United States could be harmed if they continue to work with Iran. 
Earlier this year, the EU began bringing in legislation which the bloc says would allow its companies to continue doing business with Iran.
This 'blocking statute' was introduced in 1996 to get around US sanctions on Cuba, although it was never actually used.
An updated version of the measure should be in force before 6 August, when the first sanctions take effect.

Summit my ass! He's there to get instructions on what Putin wants him to do next. If we can't figure out a way to get rid of this *%&@#, we deserve him. 

I truly believe his campaign team committed treason. If he didn't personally direct it, he knew about it - even if he didn't actively participate. Now he's blaming the Democrats because they didn't stop him! That's the only thing he's right about. He should have been stopped! Now he's trying to dismantle our country to line his own pockets and keep us from doing anything about it. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44852812

What??!!

Another shameful and embarrassing moment in our American history.  What a joke.  This meeting was nothing more than a show, much like the North Korea meeting.  Most people with an ounce of intelligence knows that Trump and his minions committed conspiracy with Russia.  Hopefully Mueller has enough solid evidence to indict them all!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5959579/You-watching-one-disgraceful-performances-president-Anderson-Cooper.html

[size=34]'You have been watching one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president I have ever seen': Anderson Cooper eviscerates Trump after Vladimir Putin press conference[/size]

• Anderson Cooper slammed President Trump in the wake of his press conference with Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki 
  
  
• 'You have been watching one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president at a summit in front of a Russian leader,' said Cooper
  
  
• President Trump was asked during the press conference if he would denounce Putin and if he believed his own intelligence agencies over the Russian leader
  
  
• 'I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,' said Trump
  
  
• 'I thought we were going to get out of that press conference with a minimum of damage and that was really, really extraordinary,' said Christiane Amanpour
  
  
• 'The president of the United States very much yielding the field on this day to Vladimir Putin. Anderson,' noted Jim Acosta, one of Trump's frequent targets
  
  

By CHRIS SPARGO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 
PUBLISHED: 12:14 EDT, 16 July 2018 | UPDATED: 14:42 EDT, 16 July 2018

    



Anderson Cooper made it very clear how he felt about president Donald Trump's performance during his joint press conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
'You have been watching perhaps one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president at a summit in front of a Russian leader certainly that I've ever seen,' began Cooper in his remarks once the press conference had ended on Monday.
Cooper said this in a calm and even voice, delivering it as fact and not an opinion. 
'An extraordinary press conference,' added Cooper, who is on assignment in Helsinki for the week. 





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Haranguing with Mr Cooper: Anderson Cooper (above on Monday) slammed President Trump in the wake of his press conference with Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki


+8


Vlad about you: 'You have been watching one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president at a summit in front of a Russian leader,' said Cooper (President Trump and Vladmir Putin after the press conference on Monday)


+8


Vlad libs: President Trump was asked during the press conference if he would denounce Putin and if he believed his own intelligence agencies over the Russian leader (President Trump responds to a question on Monday)
Cooper then explained how he arrived at his review of President Trump's performance in his first question to Christiane Amanpour, who is also in Finland.
'Christiane, given the opportunity, asked by an American reporter who he trusted on the issue of Russian meddling, the U.S. Intelligence or Vladimir Putin, he blinked and he went to Hillary Clinton's e-mail server,' noted Cooper. 
'As to who he holds responsible, he holds both responsible. I think we are all to blame. We have a chance to make some great things.'
Cooper continued: 'Made no mention of the shooting down of a plane, Crimea and election interference. In fact he said all he can do is ask the question about election interference. And said that Vladimir Putin was very powerful in his denial of it and the president went on to say he doesn't see any reason why it would have been Russia who interfered.' 


Amanpour quickly made it clear that she was very much in agreement with Cooper and equally bewildered by what she had just witnessed take place on he international stage. 
'I think that was it. "I don't see any reason why it would have been Russia hacking into our election and went on to talk about the server and the 30,000 e-mails," et cetera,' replied Amanpour. 
'He basically said in Russia, they would never have let this stuff happen. I mean it really was quite extraordinary actually. I thought we were going to get out of that press conference with a minimum of damage and that was really, really extraordinary as you just said.'
She went on to note: 'And he then said that Putin came up with a great offer as to how to figure this out, which of course Putin responded as he always does with the sort of obfuscation. Yes, we have a sort of treaty on various issues, but you have to send us a formal letter and we'll respond and we'll reciprocate but only in kind. We need to have people of interest.' 
This all came to a head in the press conference when the AP cut right to the heart of the matter in the final question of the day.
'Just now, President Putin denied having anything to do with the election interference in 2016. very U.S. Intelligence agency has concluded that Russia did,' said Jonathan Lemier. 
'My first question for you, sir, is who do you believe? My second question is would you now, with the whole world watching, tell President Putin, would you denounce what happened in 2016 and would you warn him to never do it again?'


+8


It's a Vlad, Vlad, Vlad, Vlad World: 'The president of the United States very much yielding the field on this day to Vladimir Putin. Anderson,' noted Jim Acosta (above), one of Trump's frequent targets


+8


Truly vladly deeply: Amanpour and Cooper listen to the panel during their coverage of the summit on Monday (above) 



President Trump responded by first trying to change the narrative.   
'So let me just say that we have two thoughts. You have groups that are wondering why the FBI never took the server, why haven't they taken the server. Why was the FBI told to leave the office of the democratic national committee,' said President Trump. 
'I've been wondering that. I've been asking that for months and months and I've been tweeting it out and calling it  out on social media. Where is the server? I want to know where is the server and what is the server saying? With that being said, all I can do is ask the question.'
He then answered the question of who he believed more by saying: 'So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. And what he did is an incredible offer. He offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators with respect to the 12 people. I think that's an incredible offer. Okay thank you.' 
Jim Acosta, who has been at the receiving end of President Trump's public attacks more than any other reporter since he took office, also weighed in on the press conference. 
'Yeah, Anderson. I think what you were just saying there a few moments ago, I think that sums it up nicely. This was the president of the United States essentially taking the word of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, over his own law enforcement agency on this critical question,' said Acosta, who was in the room for the remarks.  
He then spoke about President Trump's response to that AP question, going on to detail his own reaction.
'But I will tell you, it was astonishing, just astonishing to be in the room with the US president and with the Russian president on this critical question of election interference and to hear the president of the United States retreat back to these talking points about DNC servers and Hillary Clinton's e-mails when he had a chance right there in front of us, right there in front of the world to confront Vladimir Putin and tell him to stay the hell out of American democracy, and he just didn't do it,' said Acosta.
'It was one of those moments, I think, obviously we all think this is a very big deal right now and sometimes these sorts of things can fade away. But I don't think this is one of those moments.'




+8




+8



Vlad men: Cooper has been spending his spare time engaging with fans using his Instagram stories  (above)


+8


Very Vlad Things: Cooper also shared an image of himself attempting to grow a beard over the weekend (above)
Acosta went on to explain how he believed this would be a landmark moment for the current administration because it 'really crystallizes a very critical problem for the United States right now in that you have the president, the leader of the free world, taking the word of Vladimir Putin who from all accounts inside the US Government, the US Intelligence community, the law enforcement community, attacked American democracy in 2016.'
He did not stop there, adding: 'You know, when Vladimir Putin  was asked whether he wanted Trump to win, that might have been the only honest moment of this news conference when Vladimir Putin said yes, he did want President Trump to win. And then shortly after that handed him that soccer ball. They came across as play mates on a soccer field more than they did international rivals, Anderson. 
'The president of the United States very much yielding the field on this day to Vladimir Putin. Anderson.'
Susan Glasser was up next, with The New Yorker columnist making her debut as CNN's global affairs correspondent.
'I think this moment is going to go down with [the moment George W. Bush said he got a sense of Putin's soul after looking him in the eye back in 2001] for me at least to hear the president of the United States attacking Robert Mueller's investigation, questioning the U.S. Intelligence agencies, the work of his own justice department, while standing literally next to Vladimir Putin,' said Glasser. 
'He called the probe a disaster for our country as Russia's leader looked on. He began the summit meeting this morning with that extraordinary tweet in which he said that essentially the United States is to blame for the bad state of relations with Russia. Crimea and the illegal annexation of territory in Europe, the first such armed takeover since the end of world War II was never mentioned until the very last question of the press conference.'
She later commented that President Trump had just delivered the 'most partisan press conference I've ever seen between an American leader and the leader of Russia.' 
It was then back to Cooper.
'He was tougher on Democrats and the intelligence community in this press conference,' said the CNN anchor. 
'I mean he was given the opportunity by an American reporter to just turn to Vladimir Putin and say something to him about Russia's meddling in the United States democracy, which is ongoing, and he refused to do that. Instead went after Democrats.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5959913/John-McCain-calls-Trumps-press-conference-Putin-disgraceful.html

[size=34]John McCain calls Trump's press conference with Putin 'one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory' and says he 'abased himself before a tyrant'[/size]

• John McCain issued scathing statement from Arizona, where the veteran Republican senator is being treated for cancer
  
  
• In a lengthy statement he savaged Trump for 'naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats'
  
  
• 'Today's press conference marks a recent low point in the history of the American Presidency,' McCain said
  
  
• Speaker Paul Ryan turned on president after press conference with Putin saying: 'There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia' 
  
  
• Nancy Pelosi, the leader of Democrats in the House, asks: 'What do the Russians have on @realDonaldTrump personally, financially & politically?'
  
  
• Trump used press conference to speak of Putin's 'very powerful' denial of the election meddling his own intelligence agencies have accused the Kremlin of
  
  

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and REUTERS and GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN HELSINKI
PUBLISHED: 13:59 EDT, 16 July 2018 | UPDATED: 15:00 EDT, 16 July 2018

    


John McCain savaged President Donald Trump's press conference with Vladimir Putin Monday in a lengthy statement which labeled it 'one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory'.
McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, issued the statement hours after Trump stood side by side with Putin and called his denial of election meddling 'very powerful'.
The Republican senator is recovering at home from treatment for glioblastoma, the aggressive brain cancer which has largely kept him from the Senate since he announced the diagnosis a year ago last week.
McCain wrote: 'Today's press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. 


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Speaking out: John McCain, seen in a picture released by his daughter Meghan McCain to mark Father's Day last month, issued a scathing indictment on the Trump-Putin press conference 


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Twitter attack: McCain used the president's preferred medium to trail the attack on Trump


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Strongly worded: This is part of the statement from McCain. Scroll down to read it in full
'The damage inflicted by President Trump's naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.'

He said it was 'painful an inexplicable' that Trump was accompanied by 'competent and patriotic advisers' then wen on to commit 'blunders and capitulations'.
But he said: 'These were not the errant tweets of a novice politician.
'These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putin's regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule, his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violation of international treaties, and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.'
McCain's intervention came as other senior Republicans spoke out in the wake of a press conference which saw Trump call his own victory 'brilliant', list conspiracy theory claims about the 2016 election, and say that Putin's offer to help the Mueller probe was 'an interesting idea'. 
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Monday there was 'no question' that Moscow interfered in the U.S. 2016 election and that President Donald Trump 'must appreciate that Russia is not our ally.'
'There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals,' the Republican leader in the House said.
'The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy.'
The rebuke from one of the party's most prominent figures came shortly after Trump's extraordinary press conference with Vladimir Putin.
At the Helsinki event after their two-hour face-to-face talks, Trump said Putin's denial of meddling in the election was 'very powerful'.


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'There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals,'Speaker Paul Ryan said


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'So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,' Trump said after meeting with Putin in Helsinki in a controversial summit.
'I have president Putin, he just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be,' Trump said, speaking to reporters about Russian election meddling as he stood side-by-side with the man U.S. intelligence says ordered it.
'So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,' Trump said after meeting with Putin in Helsinki in a controversial summit. 
But Ryan said there was 'no question' that Russia continues to try undermine democracy in the United States and around the world.
The Wisconsin Republican said the American intelligence community and the House Intelligence Committee agree that Russia interfered in the election. 
Another senior Republican, Jeff Flake, the junior senator from Arizona, tweeted, 'This is shameful.' 
Ben Sasse, the Republican senator from Nebraska, called it 'bizarre' and 'flat-out wrong' for Trump to suggest that both countries are to blame for their deteriorated relationship.  

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Attack: Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the two most senior Democrats, both lobbed salvos at the president
Democrats used a press conference to step up their attacks on Trump.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Trump's 'weakness in front of Putin' proves the Russians have damaging information on him.
'Every single day, I find myself asking: what do the Russians have on @realDonaldTrump personally, financially, & politically? The answer to that question is that only thing that explains his behavior & his refusal to stand up to Putin,' she tweeted.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of a 'shameful performance'.
The New York Democrat said it is 'thoughtless, dangerous and weak' for Trump to take Putin's word that Russia didn't meddle in the 2016 U.S. elections. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Russia did interfere, but the Kremlin has denied state involvement.

[size=34]John McCain's full attack on Trump's press conference with Putin[/size]

Here is the full text of John McCain's statement on the Helsinki summit: 
'Today's press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump's naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.
President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. 
He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world.
It is tempting to describe the press conference as a pathetic rout – as an illustration of the perils of under-preparation and inexperience. But these were not the errant tweets of a novice politician. 
These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putin's regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule, his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violation of international treaties, and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.
'Coming close on the heels of President Trump's bombastic and erratic conduct towards our closest friends and allies in Brussels and Britain, today's press conference marks a recent low point in the history of the American Presidency. 
That the president was attended in Helsinki by a team of competent and patriotic advisors makes his blunders and capitulations all the more painful and inexplicable.
'No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are—a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. 
American presidents must be the champions of that cause if it is to succeed. Americans are waiting and hoping for President Trump to embrace that sacred responsibility. One can only hope they are not waiting totally in vain.'

This press conference, Trump supporting and believing Putin rather than his own Secret Service, is so embarassing and also frightening. He believes he and Putin speak on the same level, and I've read comments saying the same, but they are absokutely underrating Putin. He's a highly intelligent former KGB agent who speaks five languages fluent - I've heard him speaking German, which he did perfectly with just a slight accent. Putin felt that his country was mortified by former US presidents (like Obama), and IMO his plan is to make Russia no. 1 in the world...

Amazing! Paul Ryan finally found his balls! Hell must have frozen over!

God bless John McCain! I'm not a Republican, but if I were I would have voted for him in a heartbeat.

Carolhathaway - The only one underestimating Putin is Trump. The rest of us know exactly who and what he is. Maybe this pathetic performance by Trump will finally get the Republicans in Congress to wake up and start putting country over party.

I've just seen an interview with the German captain of a sea rescue service ship who had saved 234 peoole in the Mediterranean Sea from drowning. Most of them weren't from African countries (although their boat had started its journey in Libya), but from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Bangladesh - just imagine their journey to Libya BECAUSE THERE'S NO LEGAL WAY TO GET TO EUROPE.

The captain wasn't allowed to land his ship anywhere in Europe for several days until several European countries declared they would split them between them and is facing a trial in Malta - he wasn't allowed to save them.

Last weekend, a father and his two kids from less than ten miles away from where I live, were on holidays at the north Sea coast. They were surprised by the incoming tide and couldn't get back. Somebody heard them crying for help, and when a boat and a helicopter came to rescue them, the father held his kids on his arms standing in quickwater, and the water was up to his neck. They had drawned within the next two or three minutes.
Why wrre they rescued? They knew about the dangerous high tides at the German North Sea coast since everybody is warned about it.
We've got lifeguards everywhere who try everything and risk their own lifes to save others - even when they are stupid, drunk or don't care.

But there are no save ways to escape for people who face war, terror, torture or simply srarvation and hopelessness.

Well, a few things seem to be happening stateside - apart from outrage obviously

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/russian-mariia-butina-charged-foreign-agent-who-eyed-nra-pols-n891821

https://twitter.com/Amy_Siskind/status/1018947763969626112

https://twitter.com/danpfeiffer/status/1018926682898456576

Sorry for posting similar comments, I know I already compared the efforts to save the football team trapped in the cave in Thailand with refugees and how different we feel about that. But that's a similar situation, people are distress and need to be rescued. And I don't think anybody asked the father and his kids about their nationality or if he pays his taxes or is unemployed before they were rescued (i.g. if they are worth being rescued), but of course the North Sea is too far away for people coming from Africa...

Maybe, i'm slow didn't he say the meddling happened in 2014 and it was Obama's fault he should have done something.
Yet the Russians didn't meddle in this election.

Mueller needs to work faster this is getting worse by the second.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5960733/Donald-Trumps-team-say-looked-weak-Vladimir-Putin.html

[size=34]Donald Trump's own team say he looked 'incredibly weak' in his summit with Vladimir Putin - and the Russian leader came out of it looking 'like a champion'[/size]

• President Trump faced swift condemnation following his joint press conference with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday
  
  
• White House has struggled to explain why Trump aligned so closely with Putin
  
  
• One of Trump's senior political appointees said the summit left Trump looking 'weak' and Putin 'like a champion' 
  
  
• Lawmakers in both major parties appeared shocked with Trump's suggestion that he believes Putin's denial of interfering in the 2016 elections
  
  

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and EMILY CRANE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 19:15 EDT, 16 July 2018 | UPDATED: 20:34 EDT, 16 July 2018

    


Donald Trump's first summit with Vladimir Putin left him looking 'incredibly weak' in comparison to his Russian counterpart, according to one of the US president's own appointees. 
Trump faced swift and sweeping condemnation following his 45-minute joint press conference with the Russian president in Helsinki on Monday.
The White House has struggled to explain why Trump aligned so closely with Putin, and lawmakers in both major parties appeared shocked and dismayed with his suggestion that he believes Putin's denial of interfering in the 2016 elections.
It prompted one of Trump's own senior political appointees, who works on Russian issues, to speak out saying they had 'little to no good expectations' for the summit.


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Donald Trump's first summit with Vladimir Putin left him looking 'incredibly weak' in comparison to his Russian counterpart, according to one of the US president's own appointees


'Trump looked incredibly weak up there. Putin looks like a champion,' the official told The Daily Beast. 
'I'd like to say I'm shocked but this is the world in which we live now.' 
Trump's decision to side with Putin left a wake of confusion and outrage in the US.
Lawmakers in both major parties and former intelligence officials appeared shocked, dismayed and uneasy with Trump's suggestion that he believes Putin's denial of interfering in the 2016 elections. 
It was a remarkable break with US intelligence officials and the Justice Department. And just as alarming for some, Trump also put the two countries on the same footing when casting blame for their strained relations.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called it 'one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory'.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., called it 'bizarre', Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., called it 'shameful' and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tweeted that it was a 'bad day for the US.'
'This was a very good day for President Putin,' said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He said Trump's refusal to condemn Russian interference in the 2016 election makes the U.S. 'look like a pushover.'


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Lawmakers in both major parties and former intelligence officials appeared shocked with Trump's suggestion that he believes Putin's denial of interfering in the 2016 elections
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, said he's seen Russian intelligence manipulate many people in his earlier career as a CIA officer. But, he tweeted: 'I never would have thought that the US President would become one of the ones getting played by old KGB hands.'
House Speaker Paul Ryan weighed in to say there's 'no question' that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and 'no moral equivalence' between the US and Russia.
'The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally,' Ryan, R-Wis., said in a statement. Russia, he said, 'remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals.' 


Much of the Republican rebuke came from lawmakers who have been willing to openly criticize the president, a group that remains a minority in the GOP.
Many top Republicans remained on the sidelines after the Justice Department on Friday indicted 12 Russian intelligence officials for election-related hacking. But several Republicans who don't typically buck the president raised concerns, shocked by Monday's performance.
Democrats pleaded with their GOP colleagues who have majority control of Congress to rein in the president and become a stronger legislative check on the executive branch. 


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Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader, says never in the history of the country has an American president supported an adversary the way Trump sided with Putin
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader, says never in the history of the country has an American president supported an adversary the way Trump sided with Putin. 
He challenged Republicans to move beyond words and confront the president directly by increasing sanctions on Russia and requesting testimony about the summit from Trump administration officials, among other things.
'We need our Republican colleagues to stand up for the good of this country,' he said. 
Monday's firestorm erupted when Trump, standing side by side with Putin in Helsinki, refused to publicly condemn - or say he believes - the U.S. assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. 
Instead, he directed his ire at Democrats and U.S. officials, calling special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russia a 'disaster.'
Asked if there was anything he thinks Russia should take responsibility for, Trump said: 'We're all to blame.'

Well done potus

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5959957/Ex-CIA-chief-John-Brennan-calls-Trump-short-treasonous-Putin-press-conference.html

[size=34]Ex-CIA chief John Brennan calls Trump 'nothing short of treasonous' after fawning press conference with Putin and says performance goes beyond 'high crimes and misdemeanors'[/size]

• The former CIA chief accused Trump of being 'wholly in the pocket of Putin'
  
  
• Brennan, who served under President Obama, is one of Trump's harshest critics
  
  
• He was CIA chief during the 2016 election but has since  called the president a 'snake oil salesman' while Trump has attacked Brennan too, via Twitter 
  
  
• Republicans also savaged the president over his performance with Putin
  
  
• John McCain called it 'one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory'
  
  
• Paul Ryan told Trump he had to realize that Russia 'is not our ally' and said: 'The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable.'
  
  
• Nancy Pelosi said: 'What do the Russians have on @realDonaldTrump personally, financially, & politically?'
  
  

By EMILY GOODIN, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:14 EDT, 16 July 2018 | UPDATED: 17:50 EDT, 16 July 2018

    




Former CIA director John Brennan blasted President Donald Trump's press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday as 'nothing short of treasonous.'
He also accused the president of being 'wholly in the pocket of Putin.'
'Donald Trump's press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes & misdemeanors.' It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump's comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???,' tweeted Brennan, who served as the nation's intelligence chief from March 2013 to January 2017 under then-President Barack Obama. 
He spoke out as John McCain labeled Trump's press conference 'one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in history', and other Republicans also joined the criticism, with Paul Ryan saying: 'Russia is not our ally.'

And Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, tweeted: 'What do the Russians have on @realDonaldTrump personally, financially, & politically?'
Brennan has been one of the president's harshest critics. And he was CIA chief during the 2016 election when the Obama administration was said to have known Russia was trying to interfere in the presidential contest. 


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Former CIA director John Brennan is one of Trump's harshest critics


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He slammed Trump on twitter after the president's press conference with Putin



President Trump and President Putin spoke to the press after their meeting in Helsinki 



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Twitter attack: McCain used the president's preferred medium to trail the attack on Trump
He has not held back in the harsh language he uses to describe the president. 
In June op-ed he wrote for The Washington Post, Brennan called Trump a 'snake-oil salesman' who has shown 'mean-spirited, malicious, and highly abnormal behavior.'
Trump fired back. He attacked Brennan on Twitter after the op-ed appeared, quoting a former Secret Service agent who appeared on 'Fox & Friends' and called Brennan a liar. 
In March, after FBI agent Andrew McCabe was fired, Brennan tweeted to Trump: 'When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but will not destroy America... America will triumph over you.'
On Monday, the former CIA chief was expressing his fury that the president declined to back the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
Putin denied Russia had any role in the election.
Trump was asked if he believed his Russian counterpart or his intelligence chiefs. 'I don't see any reason why it would be' Russia, the president said.   
'I have great confidence in my intelligence people,' he added, 'but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. And what he did is an incredible offer. He offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators with respect to the 12 people. I think that's an incredible offer.' 
Brennan wasn't the only former intelligence official to express disbelief at Trump's statement.


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Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who served during the Obama administration,  said the press conference was 'truly unbelievable.'
'On the world's stage, in front of the entire globe, the President of the United States essentially capitulated and seems intimidated by Vladimir Putin. So it was amazing and very, very disturbing,' Clapper said on CNN Monday afternoon. 
Putin was asked in Monday's presser if he had any dirt on Trump or his family. 
The Russian president said he didn't know Trump was in Moscow for the 2013 Miss Universe pageant.  
'When President Trump was in Moscow back then, I didn't even know that he was in Moscow,' he said. 'Please disregard these issues and don't think about this anymore again.' 
The president said if the Russians had anything, it would have come out. 
'If they had it, it would have been out long ago,' Trump said.

[size=34]John McCain calls Trump's press conference with Putin 'one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory' and says he 'abased himself before a tyrant' [/size]

John McCain savaged President Donald Trump's press conference with Vladimir Putin Monday in a lengthy statement which labeled it 'one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory'.
McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, issued the statement hours after Trump stood side by side with Putin and called his denial of election meddling 'very powerful'.
The Republican senator is recovering at home from treatment for glioblastoma, the aggressive brain cancer which has largely kept him from the Senate since he announced the diagnosis a year ago last week.
McCain wrote: 'Today's press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. 


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Speaking out: John McCain, seen in a picture released by his daughter Meghan McCain to mark Father's Day last month, issued a scathing indictment on the Trump-Putin press conference 


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Strongly worded: This is part of the statement from McCain. Scroll down to read it in full
'The damage inflicted by President Trump's naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.'
He said it was 'painful an inexplicable' that Trump was accompanied by 'competent and patriotic advisers' then wen on to commit 'blunders and capitulations'.
But he said: 'These were not the errant tweets of a novice politician.
'These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putin's regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule, his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violation of international treaties, and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.'
McCain's intervention came as other senior Republicans spoke out in the wake of a press conference which saw Trump call his own victory 'brilliant', list conspiracy theory claims about the 2016 election, and say that Putin's offer to help the Mueller probe was 'an interesting idea'. 
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Monday there was 'no question' that Moscow interfered in the U.S. 2016 election and that President Donald Trump 'must appreciate that Russia is not our ally.'
'There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals,' the Republican leader in the House said.
'The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy.'
The rebuke from one of the party's most prominent figures came shortly after Trump's extraordinary press conference with Vladimir Putin.
At the Helsinki event after their two-hour face-to-face talks, Trump said Putin's denial of meddling in the election was 'very powerful'.


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'There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals,'Speaker Paul Ryan said


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'So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,' Trump said after meeting with Putin in Helsinki in a controversial summit.
'I have President Putin, he just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be,' Trump said, speaking to reporters about Russian election meddling as he stood side-by-side with the man U.S. intelligence says ordered it.
'So I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,' Trump said after meeting with Putin in Helsinki in a controversial summit. 
But Ryan said there was 'no question' that Russia continues to try undermine democracy in the United States and around the world.
The Wisconsin Republican said the American intelligence community and the House Intelligence Committee agree that Russia interfered in the election. 
Another senior Republican, Jeff Flake, the junior senator from Arizona, tweeted, 'This is shameful.' 
Ben Sasse, the Republican senator from Nebraska, called it 'bizarre' and 'flat-out wrong' for Trump to suggest that both countries are to blame for their deteriorated relationship.  


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Attack: Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the two most senior Democrats, both lobbed salvos at the president

[size=18]Putin: 'Where did you get the idea that we trust each other?'




L[/size]

Democrats used a press conference to step up their attacks on Trump.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Trump's 'weakness in front of Putin' proves the Russians have damaging information on him.
'Every single day, I find myself asking: what do the Russians have on @realDonaldTrump personally, financially, & politically? The answer to that question is that only thing that explains his behavior & his refusal to stand up to Putin,' she tweeted.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of a 'shameful performance'.
The New York Democrat said it is 'thoughtless, dangerous and weak' for Trump to take Putin's word that Russia didn't meddle in the 2016 U.S. elections. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Russia did interfere, but the Kremlin has denied state involvement.