After a ‘lively’ NATO summit and trip to the UK, to say the least, President Trump headed to Helsinki for the highly controversial one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin. What came next has become an explosive story that will dominate the week, and one that has huge strategic, intelligence, foreign policy, and general national security implications.
Not all the action occurred in Finland. Over the weekend a dozen indictments were issued against Russian officials that the U.S. Justice Department says had a direct hand in the information warfare campaign against the United States during the 2016 election. Then, just before meeting with Putin, firearms activist Maria Butina was declared a foreign agent and was indicted for using the NRA to influence American politics.
It didn’t end there, unrest rapidly grew from both sides of the aisle, and from within the intelligence community itself, following Trump’s press conference with Putin.
Then, just hours ago, the President rolled back his statement saying that he had no reason to believe Russia meddled in the 2016 election and now says he meant the opposite. And all this is happening as Robert Mueller’s probe continues to expand and accelerate.
Instead of giving you my take on all of this, I want to know yours. Let’s talk about the Commander In Chief’s actions and these events’ broader impact on America’s access to foreign intelligence, stance towards Russia, support of key alliances, cybersecurity, and more.
This is a controversial subject, but I know that our commentariat can handle it, and frankly, this discussion needs a place on this site.
Let us know what you make of all this in our discussion area below. And remember, heated debate is encouraged, personal attacks and outright vulgarity is not. Keep it civil, show respect and return it in kind.
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