CNN NatSec Analyst: Trump’s Response to Stunning NYT Report Is ‘Just Making Russia’s Job Easier’
A CNN panel this morning reacted to the stunning New York Times report that the FBI opened an inquiry after James Comey‘s firing into whether President Donald Trump was working for Russia.
The Times report notes that there’s no public evidence yet that Trump “was secretly in contact with or took direction from Russian government officials,” but the news of the inquiry itself shocked many. The President went on a tweetstorm this morning blasting Comey and saying he’s been “FAR tougher on Russia” than previous presidents.
I have been FAR tougher on Russia than Obama, Bush or Clinton. Maybe tougher than any other President. At the same time, & as I have often said, getting along with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. I fully expect that someday we will have good relations with Russia again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2019
In response, former Obama administration official and CNN national security analyst Samantha Vinograd said, “The President’s tweet trying to make the case that he’s not a Russian asset really just undercuts his own defense. The President’s tweet couldn’t have been scripted better if it was written by Putin himself. Someone has to have told the President that undercutting the FBI, insulting past presidents and members of the U.S. government, and criticizing their actions to keep us safe is really advancing Russia’s mission. Our own intelligence community has said that those very things are exactly what Russia is after, so in the President’s response he’s really just making Russia’s job easier while at the same time really showing that he’s going to continue to undercut our law enforcement community, and the question really is why.”
CNN White House reporter Stephen Collinson said this is all a “surreal moment” to actually read in this in print, while CNN intelligence & security analyst Robert Baer pointed out there appears to be no conclusion as of yet.
Vinograd added that it was clear Putin wanted Trump to win and “the question becomes whether President Trump was being manipulated by Russian intelligence, whether knowingly or unwittingly, to serve Russian interests.”
You can watch above, via CNN.
[image via screengrab]
