Politico: White House delays Trump-Putin meeting, blames Mueller probe
The announcement appears to be part of an optics push that Trump is getting tough on Russia.
President Donald Trump will not host Russian President Vladimir Putin in Washington until 2019, White House national security adviser John Bolton said Wednesday, because it is Trump’s preference not to do so until “the Russia witch hunt is over.”
“The President believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we've agreed that it will be after the first of the year,” Bolton said in a statement distributed through the White House press pool.
Despite the White House’s announced timeline for a second Putin meeting, there is no hard deadline for special counsel Robert Mueller to wrap up his Russia investigation, which Trump has often referred to as a "witch hunt." And there is no public indication that Mueller will do so by the end of the year.
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Update #1: Trump delays proposed Putin meeting until 2019 -- AP
Update #2: After criticism, Trump delays second Putin meeting to next year -- Reuters
WNU Editor: As I had mentioned in a previous post, the Kremlin was shocked by the overwhelmingly negative press coverage and condemnations from Congress on the Helsinki Summit .... No Trump - Putin Summit In Washington D.C.? (July 24, 2018). More here .... McConnell: Putin will not be welcome at the Capitol (Daily Mail). In such an overwhelmingly negative atmosphere, the Kremlin saw no point in having Russian President Putin go to Washington, and told President Trump it was not going to happen.
