Top Senate Democrats Are Urging Trump to Not Meet With Putin One-on-One
Top Senate Democrats Are Urging Trump to Not Meet With Putin One-on-One
By Daniel Politi
July 14, 20186:59 PM
A group of prominent Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Charles Schumer, are urging President Donald Trump to not go to the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on his own. A day after several Democrats called on Trump to outright cancel the meeting with Putin in Helsinki following the latest round of indictments by special counsel Robert Mueller, on Saturday a smaller group seemed to want to put forward a compromise considering that it’s clear the president has no intention of canceling the sit-down.
“If you insist on meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday, we write to urge that you include senior members of your team and not meet one-on-one with Mr. Putin, as reportedly planned,” the group of eight senators, including Dianne Feinstein and Patrick Leahy, wrote. In the letter, the Democrats also say that if the president isn’t “prepared to make Russia’s attack on our election the top issue you will discuss, then you should cancel the Helsinki summit.”
If the meeting does move forward, the Democrats expressed hope that the president “will use the opportunity … to advance a well-coordinated U.S. message, supported by senior leaders in your own administration.” In order for that to be successful “you must rely on the expertise and the experts of the State Department, Defense Department, CIA and other U.S. government agencies—not wing it on your own.”
On Friday, Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee sent a letter to Trump calling on him to outright cancel the meeting.
And it isn’t just Democrats who are wary about a one-on-one between Trump and Putin. “President Trump must be willing to confront Putin from a position of strength and demonstrate that there will be a serious price to pay for his ongoing aggression towards the United States and democracies around the world. If President Trump is not prepared to hold Putin accountable, the summit in Helsinki should not move forward,” Sen. John McCain said in a statement Friday.
The White House has made it clear the summit is moving forward. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday night the meeting should go ahead as planned. “I think it’s very important that they meet,” Pompeo told reporters. “I am confident that President Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin will put America in a better place.”
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...ne-on-one.html
