At this afternoon’s White House press briefing, Sarah Sanders dropped this unsettling little nugget:
WH press sec Sanders acknowledged that Putin talked to Trump about his interest in prosecuting financier Bill Browder and former US ambassador Michael McFaul. she declined to rule out US cooperation in that effort, saying Trump would consult his national security team
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) July 18, 2018
.@maggieNYT asks @WHPressSec abt Russia’s call to intv @Billbrowder & @McFaul: “Pres will meet w/ his team & we’ll let you know when we have an announcement on that front.” Acknowledges the topic was discussed privately bween Trump & Putin.
— Bianna Golodryga (@biannagolodryga) July 18, 2018
WH @PressSec said in his mtg w Putin, Trump discussed the possibility of allowing the Russians to question Americans, including former US Amb to Russia Michael McFaul, for what they call "crimes" by Bill Browder, but that he made no commitments
— Julie Davis (@juliehdavis) July 18, 2018
NEW: Sanders says there was "some conversation" between Trump, Putin about possibility of Russia questioning U.S. figures, including former Amb. McFaul, "but there wasn't a commitment made…the president will work with his team and we'll let you know if there's an announcement." pic.twitter.com/UnubKsNmrr
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 18, 2018
Pardon?
Wait…wut? https://t.co/YBDcnJSjB8
— Pradheep J. Shanker, M.D., M.S. (@Neoavatara) July 18, 2018
WHAT??!?!?!??? https://t.co/rboSkRBHQ2
— The Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) July 18, 2018
GTFO of here with that. https://t.co/qT6PWFepMd
— James Hasson (@JamesHasson20) July 18, 2018
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This is not encouraging to hear.
Bill Browder has been sounding the alarm on the unethical behavior of Fusion GPS, the outfit that put together the Trump dossier for the DNC. So helping Putin get him seems is not just unwarranted it's
ill-advised politically for Trump. https://t.co/6AHZJZ9xv6— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) July 18, 2018
“Ill-advised” is putting it mildly.
she declined to rule out US cooperation
SHE DECLINED TO RULE OUT US COOPERATION https://t.co/XHUpISkjFb
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) July 18, 2018
horrendous. https://t.co/OdzTqDfmno
— Eli Lake (@EliLake) July 18, 2018
If they prosecute Browder out of some quid-pro-quo it would be an unmitigated outrage. https://t.co/3OjYShLxvj
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) July 18, 2018
No kidding.
What if we — and hear me out here — start handing over Americans to Putin in exchange for a promise not to hack Republicans plus some magic beans https://t.co/sZTHdmMcGi
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) July 18, 2018
America won’t be truly great again until we [checks notes] start capturing Americans for Putin https://t.co/DxlkcNloFs
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) July 18, 2018
Now, it’s important to keep in mind that the Trump administration is pretty notorious for talking a big game and not necessarily following through, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that this is just another example of that.
They're not handing over Browder or McFaul, guys. Especially not Browder, because he'd be in mortal danger.
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) July 18, 2018
So maybe, just maybe, the possibility shouldn’t even be on anyone’s radar.
We can only hope that at her next briefing, Sanders shoots it down once and for all.
For what it’s worth:
After WH spox Sarah Sanders fails to reject Russian request to question former US Amb to Russia Michael McFaul, State spox Heather Nauert calls the Russian request "absolutely absurd" and "We do not stand by those assertions" the Russian government makes.
— Jonathan Landay (@JonathanLanday) July 18, 2018
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Related:
OOPS: Russia walks back claim that Bill Browder donated $400M to Hillary Clinton’s campaign
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