Donald Trump – Johnson's Russia List

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump Adds to Sanctions on Russia Over Skripals” – New York Times/ Michael Crowley, Julian E. Barnes

August 3, 2019 JRL Russia List Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Chemical Weapons, Biological Weapons, ChemBio, JRL NewsBlog, Sanctions, Terrorism, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photo of White House with South Lawn and Fountain

“… Trump … signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on Russia, responding to growing pressure from Congress to further punish Moscow after a nerve agent attack …. the second round of sanctions by the administration after a botched attempt in March 2018 to fatally poison a former Russian military intelligence officer, Sergei Skripal, in … Salisbury [in the UK]. […]

Trump Calls Putin To Offer Help Battling Siberian Fires

August 1, 2019 JRL Russia List Disasters, Environment, Far East, Siberia, APEC, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – August 1, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russian-army-called-in-to-fight-siberia-forest-fires/30085889.html) U.S. President Donald Trump has offered to help Russia battle widespread forest fires in Siberia as he seeks to repair Washington’s fractious relationship with Moscow. Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin to make the offer, the Kremlin said […]

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Leave a comment Disasters, Donald Trump, Environment, Fires, Putin, Russia, Russian News, Siberia, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Accountability’? The Mueller Hearing Is How Trump Escapes” – The New Yorker/ Susan B. Glasser

July 25, 2019 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“After so much waiting – a hundred and twenty-four days, to be precise, since Robert Mueller’s report was delivered – perhaps it was bound to be a disappointment. Still, three hours after the former special counsel took the witness stand on Wednesday to testify about his investigation of President Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election … MSNBC anchor […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Mueller Report and the Silence of the Experts; Those well-positioned to comment on the investigation too often ceded the debate to partisans.” – Moscow Times/ Timothy Frye

July 24, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“The Mueller reports highlights many shortcomings in American democracy, but also reveals a deeper failure that informs our broader politics: the silence of the experts. Those well-positioned to comment on the investigation – academic Russia watchers, political science experts on elections, and non-partisan national security specialists – too often ceded the debate to partisans. … [T]he expert community should have […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “New Report: Mueller Lacks Substantiating Evidence Of Russian Election Interference” – The Federalist/ Madeline Osburn

July 9, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“New report reveals that Mueller’s investigation missed key evidence to support its central claim that Russia was 100% responsible for election interference.” “… Mueller’s [Special Counsel] report lacks substantiating evidence supporting the central claims of Kremlin interference in the 2016 election, according to … RealClearInvestigations. … discrepancies over the timeline, details, and conflicts of interest from key players in the […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Despite ‘thug hugs,’ Trump is tougher on despots than Obama” – New York Post/ Marc Thiessen

July 5, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“During a single visit to Asia … Trump embraced not one, not two, but three dictators. He became the first American president to set foot in North Korea, where he praised his ‘great friendship’ with North Korea’s despotic leader, Kim Jong Un; he held another cringe-worthy press availability with … Putin, where Trump joked about Russia’s electoral interference; … he […]

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The Osaka Meeting: Is the Tide Turning in U.S.-Russian Relations?

July 2, 2019 JRL Russia List United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Thomas Graham – July 1, 2019) Thomas Graham, Managing Director at Kissinger Associates, was the senior Russia expert on the National Security Council staff during the George W. Bush administration. To the consternation of his bitterest opponents and to the surprise, and relief, of many, U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “White House’s Top Russia Adviser Fiona Hill to Leave Position; National Security Council’s non-proliferation director to succeed her” – Wall Street Journal/ Vivian Salama

June 20, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… top [Trump] Russia adviser [Fiona Hill] is leaving … in August … [to] be succeeded by … current … National Security Council … nonproliferation [head] Tim Morrison …. Hill, a … staunch [Putin] critic has held the position since March 2017 …. Hill had just assumed [the role] … when … Trump invited Russia[n] foreign minister … Lavrov[] and […]

Toward the Possibility of a New U.S.-Russian “Reset”: Does Their Hot & Cold Past Foretell Their Future?

May 29, 2019 JRL Russia List United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo – Ivan Kurilla – May 28, 2019 – Ivan Kurilla is Professor at the European University at St. Petersburg) Relations between Russia and the United States have been known to change, for the better or for the worse, within a relatively short period of time. Drawing on historical examples, I analyze cases when relations improved and […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “American Hustle; What Mueller Found – and Didn’t Find – About Trump and Russia” – Foreign Affairs/ Stephen Kotkin

May 23, 2019 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Russian intelligence organizations … could manage entirely on their own to hack e-mail accounts, line up cutouts such as WikiLeaks to disseminate damaging material, impersonate Americans on social media, and study elementary research available in open sources about battleground states and swing voters. * * * … The sections of the report that treat what Russia intended and achieved […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump, Russia seek to use end of Mueller investigation as pivot point in relationship; Putin calls Mueller investigation ‘objective'” – Washington Post/ Anne Gearan, Anton Troianovski

May 15, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… the special counsel investigation of Russian election interference now complete, the Trump administration cautiously offered a fresh start with Russia … as the two countries find their interests colliding on a range of international issues. … Trump dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet with … Putin, bearing a message that the United States is ready to renew […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Russia Investigation Will Continue; Counterintelligence agencies must find it hard to believe the cupboard is already bare” – The Atlantic/ John Sipher

May 6, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Mueller’s Russia probe is over, and … Trump on Friday again described the probe as a ‘Witch Hunt,’ [yet] the FBI is almost certain to continue its counterintelligence investigation into Russian espionage efforts related to the 2016 election. …”

JRL NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “The Russia story cannot die — CNN, the Democratic Party, others have too much invested in it” – Fox/ Tucker Carlson

May 3, 2019 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Barr first served as Attorney General in the George H.W. Bush administration. That was 1991. … Then this February, purely by process of elimination, basically as he was the one guy could get confirmed, Barr became Attorney General of the United States once again. The Mueller investigation was nearly over when he got the job. Barr probably didn’t expect […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “How the Obama White House engaged Ukraine to give Russia collusion narrative an early boost” – The Hill/ John Solomon

April 28, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Ukraine, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photo of Susan Rice and Barack Hussein Obama in St. Petersburg Russia, with Mural of St. Petersburg Scene in Background, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“As … Trump began his meteoric rise … the Obama White House summoned Ukrainian authorities to Washington …. Ukrainian participants said it didn’t take long … to realize the Americans’ objectives included two politically hot investigations: one that touched … Biden’s family and one that involved a lobbying firm linked closely to then-candidate Trump. … [O]ne of the earliest documented […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Memes Didn’t Steal the Election; Being influenced by foreign propaganda doesn’t cost a citizen his right to vote” – Wall Street Journal/ Crispin Sartwell

April 25, 2019 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Multilingual Polling Place Sign from U.S. Election Polling Place

“… It’s worth pondering what really would throw an election’s legitimacy into question. Directly compromising the vote by hacking voting machines or disposing of absentee ballots does the job – the latter triggered the invalidation of a North Carolina House race …. So does jailing opponents, banning political parties, or threatening or bribing voters. But a social-media campaign, even coordinated […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “What the Mueller Report Tells Us About How Russia Works; Please, put away those onion-dome-on-the-White-House graphics and abandon those excitable claims of Trump as a Russian agent.” – Moscow Times/ Mark Galeotti

April 19, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Putin’s Russia is … an ‘adhocracy’ … in which the true elite is defined by service to the needs of the Kremlin rather than any specific institutional or social identity. They may be spies, or diplomats, journalists, politicians, or millionaires; essentially they are all ‘political entrepreneurs’ who both seek to serve the Kremlin or are required to do so, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH AUDIO: “Former U.S. Ambassador To Russia Discusses Findings Of Mueller Report”- NPR/ Michael McFaul

April 19, 2019 JRL Russia List Audio, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“MCFAUL: … I’ve actually been dealing with Russian trolls and Russian real people on social media since I was ambassador in 2012, and I think it just underscores how sophisticated this operation was by Russia. I still fear that a lot of Americans have underestimated both their capacity to interfere in our elections and their will to do it. And […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Internet, McFaul, Mueller, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Social Media, Trolls, U.S.-Russian Relations

Trump and Russia: ‘Quid Pro Quo’ or Quid Pro Talk?

April 19, 2019 JRL Russia List Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – April 18, 2019 – russiamatters.org/blog/trump-and-russia-quid-pro-quo-or-quid-pro-talk) A few weeks before today’s release of the voluminous Mueller report, a former New York Times executive editor, Max Frankel, argued in an op-ed that the Trump campaign and “Vladimir Putin’s oligarchy” had reached an “obvious bargain” in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election: The “overarching […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Putin, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Sanctions, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Democrats’ Denial Over The Lack Of Russian Collusion Could Re-Elect Trump” – The Federalist/ Jonathan S. Tobin

April 11, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Doubling down on accusations and demanding the un-redacted Mueller report is no substitute for collusion myths, but Democrats’ inability to let it go helps the president.” “… The Democratic Party absorbed a hard blow when … the Mueller investigation determin[ed] there was no collusion with Russia involving the president or his campaign. … Expecting members of Congress like … Adam […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “All About the U.S. Sanctions Aimed at Putin’s Russia” – Bloomberg/ Henry Meyer, Laurence Arnold, Olga Tanas, Tony Halpin

April 10, 2019 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Portion of U.S. Treasury Department Building Facade, North Side, with Sculpture of Alexander Hamilton

“… Since 2014, the U.S. has imposed travel bans, asset freezes and finance and trade restrictions against hundreds of Russian individuals and companies … a multinational effort …. 1. What U.S. sanctions are in place against Russia? More than 700 Russian people and companies have been targeted …. 2. Why were the sanctions imposed? … starting in 2014 after Russia […]

Kirk Bennett: “Tying Up the Loose Ends of Russiagate”

April 5, 2019 JRL Russia List Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Subject: TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS OF RUSSIAGATE Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2019 From: Kirk Bennett <kirkbennett7@yahoo.com> TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS OF RUSSIAGATE The unfinished business of Russiagate consists of clearing the names of innocent people; holding senior bureaucrats to account for errors of judgment and abuses of power; and restoring the tarnished image of democratic governance. By Kirk […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “What Mueller Won’t Say: Did he investigate the Steele dossier? If not, he didn’t really investigate.” – Wall Street Journal/ Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.

March 28, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Robert Mueller file photo, adapted from image at fbi.gov

“… the exact words of Attorney General William Barr: ‘The Special Counsel and his staff thoroughly investigated allegations that members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump … conspired with the Russian government in its efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.’ How is it possible to investigate these ‘allegations’ without holding the Steele dossier, the only […]

Steve Shabad: “Response to Matt Bivens [Re: Russiagate]”

March 28, 2019 JRL Russia List Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Subject: Response to Matt Bivens Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2019 From: Steve Shabad <steve.shabad@gmail.com> To: davidjohnson@starpower.net Response to Matt Bivens (JRL #50 “Russiagate: The Great Tragic Comedy of Modern Journalism”) From Steve Shabad [Bivens: blog.usejournal.com/russiagate-the-great-tragic-comedy-of-modern-journalism-fd2a451aaa25][russialist.org/jrl-newswatch-russiagate-the-great-tragic-comedy-of-modern-journalism-matt-bivens/] Matt Bivens’ essay on what he calls the “tragic comedy of modern journalism” made for provocative reading, and I agreed with some of his points. […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russiagate: The Great Tragic Comedy of Modern Journalism” – Matt Bivens

March 28, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Matt Bivens – Medium.com – March 25, 2019 – medium.com/@mattbivens_34439/russiagate-the-great-tragic-comedy-of-modern-journalism-fd2a451aaa25) “Russiagate: The Great Tragic Comedy of Modern Journalism” By Matt Bivens Former editor, Moscow Times “In its Russiagate coverage, The New York Times has repeatedly offered a graphic accusing the President’s retinue of “more than 100 contacts with Russian nationals.” This decision to question the loyalty of people who have […]

Mueller Investigation Result Opens Way for a Putin Visit to Washington This Year, Frolov Says

March 27, 2019 JRL Russia List United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Paul Goble – Window on Euarasia – Staunton, March 26, 2019) Many Russian commentators have suggested that the findings of the Mueller investigation may be good news for Donald Trump but will do little to affect US-Russian relations. But Vladimir Frolov, who is well-connected with the regime, says that Mueller’s findings open the way for Vladimir Putin to visit the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole; The Mueller Report won’t soothe a paranoid frenzy to undo the 2016 election” – City Journal (New York)/ Paul Starobin

March 27, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“The idea of irascible Donald Trump as a compliant tool of the Kremlin in Moscow – some sort of clandestine agent or asset … has always seemed off-center. Who has ever been able to control him … Does Trump seem capable of keeping secrets, following orders, or maintaining the strict discipline required of a double agent? … to sober minds, […]

JRL NEWSWATCH [SATIRE]: “Shocked Vladimir Putin Slowly Realizing He Didn’t Conspire With Trump Campaign; ‘Who The H[–]l Was I Working With Then?’ Asks Russian President” – The Onion

March 27, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Saying that he had been ‘totally blindsided’ by the revelations from the recently released findings of the Mueller investigation, a shocked Vladimir Putin reportedly came to the realization Tuesday that he didn’t conspire with Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign after all. ‘What the hell? I worked so hard on this – if I wasn’t colluding with the Trump campaign, who […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Hackers, JRL NewsBlog, Newswatch, Putin, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Satire, Trolls, U.S. Elections

JRL NEWSWATCH: “With Mueller gone, can Trump pursue his dream of a Russian reset?” – Washington Post/ Paul Sonne, Anton Troianovski, John Hudson

March 26, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Trump came into office signaling a desire to improve relations with Moscow, pledging on the campaign trail to ‘get along great’ with … Putin and win his respect. With the conclusion of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, the president has won more freedom to pursue that goal. But experts say the sand has shifted significantly in Washington […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “After Mueller Report, News Media Leaders Defend Their Works” – New York Times/ Amy Chozick

March 26, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“[CNN president] Jeff Zucker … said he was ‘entirely comfortable’ with the network’s coverage. ‘We are not investigators. We are journalists, and our role is to report the facts as we know them, which is exactly what we did’ … ‘A sitting president’s own Justice Department investigated his campaign for collusion with a hostile nation. That’s not enormous because the […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Myth that Won’t Die: Donald Trump as Russia’s Puppet; Trump’s actual policies toward Russia are in contrast to the notion that he is ‘doing Putin’s bidding.'” – The National Interest/ Ted Galen Carpenter

March 26, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Trump’s political adversaries, along with an assortment of Russia haters in the foreign-policy community and the news media, keep pushing the narrative that Trump is … Putin’s puppet. That allegation shows few signs of dissipating even though no credible evidence supporting it has emerged. Unfortunately, the situation is unlikely to change even though Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation concluded […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russians Hope Mueller Report Opens Door to Improved U.S. Ties” – New York Times/ Neil MacFarquhar, Ivan Nechepurenko, Andrew Kramer

March 25, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“There was crowing in Russia … that the special counsel’s investigation did not find coordination between Moscow and the Trump campaign in 2016, but optimism about improved relations was tempered by the report’s extensive focus on Russian meddling in the presidential election. Official reaction … proved decidedly muted. [Putin spokesman] Dmitri S. Peskov … [said] the only news in the […]

NEWSLINK: “Serious journalists should be proud of – not bullied over – their Russia reporting” – Washington Post/Margaret Sullivan

March 25, 2019 JRL Russia List Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Historic Washington Post Masthead, adapted from image at nlrb.gov

“… All right, then. Here goes. …”

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Media, Newslinks, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “When the Mueller report shows Trump didn’t collude with Russia, will anyone be punished?” – Fox News/ Tucker Carlson 3.21.19

March 23, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Once the Mueller report appears, and it becomes incontrovertible that whatever his faults, Donald Trump did not collude with the Russians, the many people who have persistently claimed on the basis of no evidence that he did collude with the Russians, ought to be punished. …”

U.S. Senators To Try Again With Tougher Russia Sanctions Bill

February 14, 2019 JRL Russia List International Law, Syria, Ukraine, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

American Flag and Partial View of U.S. Capitol Dome, adapted from image at aoc.gov

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – February 14, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/us-senators-press-new-tough-russia-sanctions-bill/29769099.html) A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill that would impose drastic new sanctions on Russia over its meddling in U.S. elections and aggression against Ukraine. The bill, the latest congressional effort to push President Donald Trump […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Senate has uncovered no direct evidence of conspiracy between Trump campaign and Russia” – NBC News/ Ken Dilanian

February 13, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“After two years and 200 interviews, the Senate Intelligence Committee is approaching the end of its investigation into the 2016 election, having uncovered no direct evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to both Democrats and Republicans on the committee. … investigators disagree along party lines when it comes to the implications of a pattern of […]

Diminishing Returns: How Effective Are Sanctions Against Russia?

January 24, 2019 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(PONARS Eurasia – Stacy Closson – January 2019 – ponarseurasia.org/memo/diminishing-returns-how-effective-are-sanctions-against-russia) Stacy Closson is a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute and a Senior Adjunct Professional Lecturer at American University’s School of International Service. (PONARS Policy Memo) In November 2018, the Trump administration announced another set of sanctions on Russian individuals and entities for supporting Russia’s economic integration […]

Do Trump’s Afghanistan Claims Mirror Moscow’s Rhetoric?

January 23, 2019 JRL Russia List Afghanistan, History, Soviet Union, Military, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – January 11, 2019 – russiamatters.org/blog/do-trumps-afghanistan-claims-mirror-moscows-rhetoric) Earlier this month, President Donald Trump offered his take on Soviet Russia’s experiences in Afghanistan as he argued in favor of a huge U.S. troop withdrawal and a larger contribution by Moscow to stabilize the war-racked country. The U.S. president put forward two basic propositions: that the […]

NEWSLINK: “U.S. Policy on Russia? Trump and His Team Might Give Different Answers” – New York Times/ Peter Baker

January 21, 2019 JRL Russia List Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

“President Trump says that he has done more to counter Russian aggression than other recent presidents. But, officials say, Mr. Trump has gone along with such actions reluctantly or under pressure.”

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NEWSLINK: “The Strange Persistent Troubling Russian Hang-Up of Donald Trump; Trump’s agenda in Europe is Putin’s agenda in Europe. Is that really a coincidence?” – New York Times/ Roger Cohen

January 21, 2019 JRL Russia List Europe, EU, NATO, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

New York Times Masthead from 1913 adapted from image at loc.gov

“… The central thrust of Russian foreign policy under President Vladimir Putin is the dismantlement of NATO….”

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, NATO, New York Times, Newslinks, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump Outlines Broader Missile-Defense Strategy; Plan’s vision includes space-based sensors to detect hostile or accidental launches” – Wall Street Journal/ Gordon Lubold, Courtney McBride

January 19, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Trump called … for … expanded and more sophisticated missile-defense … and said America’s allies must share in future costs …. The missile-defense plan, put forth by … Trump … at the Pentagon, is laid out in a review ordered early in the Trump administration and issued Thursday, the first such review in nine years. … call[ing] for new, […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Russia Sanctions Test in the U.S. Senate; A move to block sanctions relief has been defeated, averting a likely spike in global aluminum prices but also spotlighting the tough road ahead for Congress in shaping policy on Russia” – Council on Foreign Relations/ Stephen Sestanovich

January 18, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Fifty-seven senators … tried unsuccessfully … to keep … Trump … from going forward with sanctions relief for Russia’s largest aluminum producer, Rusal, and its parent companies. … highlight[ing] internal tensions over Russia policy and the difficulty Congress faces …. Sanctions against Russia have enjoyed strong support in Congress since the annexation of Crimea …. The Treasury Department claimed … […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Sorry, but Trump is not ‘tough on Russia’; The administration has taken some tough stances toward Moscow. Why does the president disavow them?” – Washington Post/ Michael McFaul

January 18, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… The Trump administration has a tough policy on Russia, one that I mostly support. But Trump himself does not. For the past two years, he has consistently made it clear that he does not support his own administration’s policy toward Russia. The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy states very bluntly that ‘China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, JRL NewsBlog, McFaul, Newswatch, Obama, Russia, Russian News, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin can’t afford to ditch the dollar” – Reuters/ Steven E. Halliwell

January 18, 2019 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

“Paul Manafort, while managing Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, is accused of passing private polling data to his Russia business partner, a man with alleged ties to Russian intelligence. … revealed in an unsealed court filing … likely to stoke the case in Congress for increased sanctions …. [T]he reverberations will be felt in Moscow, where anger and frustration over […]

NEWSLINK: “Anti-Trump Frenzy Threatens to End Superpower Diplomacy; Baseless Russiagate allegations continue to risk war with Russia” – The Nation/ Stephen F. Cohen

January 18, 2019 JRL Russia List Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… This commentary is based on the most recent of [Cohen] weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War with the host of the John Batchelor radio show. …”

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NEWSLINK: “The Trump-Putin revelations tell us what we knew all along” – Washington Post/ Anne Applebaum

January 14, 2019 JRL Russia List Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… The compulsion to get beneath the surface of things lies at the heart of what makes some people scholars or scientists. It’s also at the heart of what makes some people conspiracy theorists. More to the point, it explains why so many are excited by recent ‘revelations’ about President Trump and his relationship with Vladimir Putin, even though they […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Mueller, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, U.S. Elections

NEWSLINK: “Here are 18 reasons Trump could be a Russian asset” – Washington Post/ Max Boot

January 14, 2019 JRL Russia List Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Max Boot, a Post columnist, is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a global affairs analyst for CNN.”

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Newslinks, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, U.S. Elections, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Strobe Talbott: It’s Already Collusion; We don’t need news reports to tell us that Trump is giving Putin what he wants. Take it from this longtime Russia hand: It’s staring us in the face” – Politico/ Strobe Talbott

January 14, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Strobe Talbott file photo, adapted from image at state.gov

“… We already know that that the Kremlin helped put Trump into the White House and played him for a sucker. Or put it this way: Trump has been colluding with a hostile Russia throughout his presidency. We’ll see if it started before that. … Strobe Talbott … distinguished fellow in the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution … […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump Confronts the Prospect of a ‘Nonstop Political War’ for Survival” – New York Times/ Peter Baker

January 14, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“WASHINGTON – So it has come to this: The president of the United States was asked over the weekend whether he is a Russian agent. And he refused to directly answer. The question, which came from a friendly interviewer, not one of the ‘fake media’ journalists he disparages, was “the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked,” he declared. But […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: @Anders_Aslund tweet re: Trump and Putin

January 14, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Anders Aslund – Twitter @anders_aslund – January 13, 2019) [Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council] “Everything suggests that #Trump is #Putin’s agent: secret meetings, persistent public praise, undermining US foreign policy interests & alliances. The actual Kremlin payment can easily be done #offshore in anonymous companies as the #SteeleDossier suggested.” [embedded live feed of tweet should load below:] Everything suggests […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Steele dossier was planned as Hillary’s insurance policy” – Washington Times/ Larry O’Connor

January 7, 2019 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… highly damaging text messages between FBI agent Peter Strzok and his paramour, FBI lawyer Lisa Page … [revealed] petty, vitriolic political diatribes while making decisions on the most sensitive investigations of the 2016 political season. Their hatred toward then-candidate … Trump … [and] contempt for his supporters gave reasonable observers every reason to question whether the Hillary Clinton email […]

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