The Trump Putin feedback loop
by digby
They’re so tight they are practically completing each other’s sentences:
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday praised special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. elections as “objective.”
“On the whole he had a very objective investigation and he confirmed that there are no traces whatsoever of collusion between Russia and the incumbent administration, which we said was absolutely fake,” Putin said during a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Sochi, Russia, according to media translations.
Okaaay. But if he thinks the investigation was objective, he’s admitting his sabotage:
Mueller’s 448-page report, released to Congress and the public on April 18 after a nearly two-year investigation, provided the most comprehensive description to date of Russia’s efforts to boost Donald Trump’s campaign during the 2016 presidential election…
“Russian efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election represent the most recent expression of Moscow’s longstanding desire to undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order, but these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations.”
Also, these must be objective conclusions too:
● Mueller rejects the argument that the president is shielded from obstruction laws.
●Trump, when told of appointment of special counsel Mueller, said: “This is the end of my presidency.”
● “Substantial evidence” supports Comey over Trump in account of Flynn meeting.
●Trump campaign attempted to obtain Hillary Clinton’s private emails.
● Campaign expected to benefit from stolen information released by the Russians.
● Mueller probe spawned 14 other investigations, including two unidentified cases that remain ongoing.
● Putin stepped up outreach to Trump after election.
● Special counsel team concluded Trump intended to obstruct probe in tweeting support for Manafort.
I guess that’s all good for Trump and Putin. Case closed …
.