Gobsmacking bombshell of the day (so far)
by digby
President Trump held a second, informal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg earlier this month, according to Ian Bremmer, the president of the international consulting firm Eurasia Group.The meeting took place during the G-20 heads of state dinner, according to Bremmer, hours after Trump’s formal bilateral sit-down with Putin.
In that conversation, Trump spoke with the Russian leader for roughly an hour, joined only by Putin’s translator. The meeting had previously gone without mention by the White House.
Trump’s interactions with Putin are the subject of particularly intense scrutiny in the U.S., because of the ongoing special counsel and congressional investigations into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
That Trump was not joined in the conversation by his own translator is a breach of national security protocol, Bremmer noted, though one that the president likely would not know about.
White House official confirms to @kwelkernbc Trump and Putin spoke privately on the margins of a G-20 dinner. Was previously undisclosed. https://t.co/hqULLe2KYS— Dafna Linzer (@DafnaLinzer) July 18, 2017
Trump Administration had no intention of disclosing second hour long meeting w Putin. https://t.co/clLKa6PwQK— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) July 18, 2017
I’m just:
.