Quote:Former Fox News Channel chief political correspondent Carl Cameron has a warning for America: “The Trump team were colluding with the Russians in 2016 – and they are still colluding.” Cameron is especially worth listening to now that the Justice Department has confirmed in its Friday indictments that senior Russian intelligence officers were behind the massive cyberattack on the 2016 election to help get Trump elected —  and that those officers coordinated their messaging with the campaign with the help of long-time Trump confidant Roger Stone.

In the weeks since the June 5 post, Cameron has told ThinkProgress that the cyberattack isn’t over, warning “the exact same type of Russian cyberattacks on the United States are ongoing.” Indeed, McClatchy reported last month that “a new Russian influence operation has surfaced that mirrors” the 2016 cyberattack effort to help elect Trump. Just last week, HuffingtonPost reported that “Russian bots appear to be fueling a wave of criticism targeting Democrats” using the hashtag #WalkAway. We are still at war with the Russians. Or rather, the Russians are asymmetrically at war with us while the President and his allies dismiss the findings of his own Justice Department and intelligence agencies.

Trump continues to promote Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that the Kremlin has not been running any such operation—while smearing the intelligence agencies and experts who say otherwise. “Whenever the President denies the entire idea of Russian interference in U.S. elections — and labels investigations into such interference a hoax or witch hunt,” Cameron told ThinkProgress, “he is enabling the biggest cyberattack in U.S. history.” The long-time Fox News correspondent agrees with the assessment of former director of national intelligence James Clapper that Russian interference was decisive in electing Trump.

Quote:US President Donald Trump has defended Russia over claims of interference in the 2016 presidential election. After face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Trump contradicted US intelligence agencies and said there had been no reason for Russia to meddle in the vote. Mr Putin reiterated that Russia had never interfered in US affairs. The two men held nearly two hours of closed-door talks in the Finnish capital Helsinki on Monday. At a news conference after the summit, President Trump was asked if he believed his own intelligence agencies or the Russian president when it came to the allegations of meddling in the elections. "President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it should be," he replied...

President Trump said Mr Putin had been "extremely strong and powerful in his denial" of any election meddling.

Quote:The director of national intelligence on Monday issued a forceful response to President Donald Trump's remarks during a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin that cast doubt on US intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 US election. "The role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the President and policymakers," said Dan Coats, the top US intelligence official. "We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy."

Quote:A Russian woman living in D.C. has been charged for conspiring to work for the Russian government by establishing relationships and infiltrating organizations that have influence in U.S. politics, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday.  Federal authorities on Sunday arrested Maria Butina, a 29-year-old Russian citizen, and charged her “with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation within the United States without prior notification to the Attorney General,” according to a DOJ press release.

Quote:President Trump claimed Russia was no longer targeting the United States or attempting to undermine the government during a meeting at the White House Wednesday. The statement directly contradicted Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who said Monday that Russia still poses a serious threat to the country. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether he believed Russia was still targeting critical U.S. systems, Trump responded with a flat “no,” before staffers ushered press from the room.

Coats issued an even more dire statement on the topic Friday, speaking before a crowd at a D.C.-based think tank. “The warning signs are there. The system is blinking. It is why I believe we are at a critical point,” he said, before naming Russia as one of the “worst offenders” committing cyberattacks against the United States. “Today, the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack.”

Quote:Real Clear Politics Washington editor Carl Cannon called increased support for Russia among Republicans "disturbing" on Monday.  He also said the reason for the increased GOP support is related to President Trump's criticisms of the investigation of the 2016 election.  "There's one other variable, and this is a little bit disturbing. In 2014, 22 percent of Republicans said that Russia was an ally, this was from a Gallup poll. That number's now 40 percent," Cannon told Hill.TV's Joe Concha on "What America's Thinking," referring to two Gallup polls on American attitudes toward Moscow.  "Now, what's happened in four years? Well, nothing good. Russia solidified its annexation of Crimea. Its separatists armed by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's army shot down a passenger airline, killed a bunch of Dutch children...the Russians have apparently continued to assassinate people on British soil. That number shouldn't go up among Republicans, and it has."   "The only thing I can think of there is President Trump's constant refrain about the witch hunt and Russia, and conflating these issues has made respondents to this poll, not a trick question exactly, but there's a little bit of 'I have to stick up for my team there. The president is saying we can get along with Russia, okay maybe we can get along with Russia," Cannon said.

Quote:In George Will’s latest column, the conservative columnist charged collusion between Trump and Putin:
“We shall learn from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation whether in 2016 there was collusion with Russia by members of the Trump campaign. The world, however, saw in Helsinki something more grave — ongoing collusion between Trump, now in power, and Russia. The collusion is in what Trump says (refusing to back the United States’ intelligence agencies) and in what evidently went unsaid (such as: You ought to stop disrupting Ukraine, downing civilian airliners, attempting to assassinate people abroad using poisons, and so on, and on).”

For Trump to conduct a secret meeting with Putin in Helsinki, with no Americans present except the American translator, was an unconscionable breach of trust and common sense. It raises profoundly ominous questions about why Trump refused to permit any senior American to attend this meeting, what may have been discussed in this meeting and whether any secret deals may have been reached that were kept secret from the secretary of State, secretary of Defense, national security adviser and White House chief of staff. In my column Thursday in The Hill, I joined others who have called for the translator to be questioned by Congress.

Quote:Two of President Donald Trump's top intelligence officials hinted within 24 hours of each other that they've considered resigning from their positions. First was FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was asked by NBC News anchor Lester Holt at the Aspen Security Forum whether he had previously threatened to resign from his position. "There have also been stories that you threatened to resign," Holt said on Wednesday night. "Have you ever hit a point on that issue of sources and methods or anything else when you said, this is a line?" "I'm a low-key, understated guy, but that should not be mistaken for what my spine is made out of," Wray answered. "I'll just leave it at that."

Next was Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, the top US intelligence official, who was also at the Aspen Security Forum. During a Thursday interview with NBC News anchor Andrea Mitchell, Coats was asked if he had ever considered resigning from his position. "That's a place I don't really go to publicly," Coats said, joking that he's "tried to retire twice," noting his previous retirements from the Senate. "Are there days when you think, 'Well, what am I doing?' Yeah," he continued. "But there's lot more days saying, "You know, the mission here is critical. And to be able to be a part of it, be able to feel like you're giving something back to your country — it's a reward. ... As long as I'm able to have the ability to seek the truth and speak the truth, I'm on board."

Quote:According to an Ipsos/Reuters poll, the majority of Americans think that Russia did interfere on behalf of Trump.  About a third of all Americans — 34 percent — strongly agreed, and another 22 percent somewhat agreed, for a total of 56 percent. But whether Americans think Russia interfered in the election has a partisan bent. Only 10 percent of Republicans strongly agree that Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 election on behalf of Trump. Another 22 percent somewhat agreed with that statement. On the flip side, 31 percent of Republicans strongly disagree that Russia got involved on behalf of Trump, with another 19 percent “somewhat” disagreeing..

Quote:Here’s the proposal: Putin offered to “help” with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation (the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which we know was directed by Putin himself) by having his government interrogate the 12 Russian military intelligence officers charged in the probe last Friday — and letting Mueller watch. But in exchange for this totally legit offer that in no way would be a complete and utter farce (ahem), Trump would have to allow Russian government officials to come to the US and question a group of Americans — including former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul — about their alleged “illegal activities” (in the words of the Kremlin). It was a patently ridiculous proposal. Obviously.

Trump called it “an incredible offer.”

On Wednesday afternoon, a reporter asked White House press secretary Sarah Sanders at a press conference if Trump was actually seriously considering accepting Putin’s proposal. Her answer was shocking because she didn’t immediately rule it out. “The president is going to meet with his team, and we’ll let you know when we have an announcement on that,” Sanders said. She also noted that Trump had not committed to anything one way or the other during his talks with Putin. That unleashed a firestorm. The administration received widespread, bipartisan condemnation for not immediately rejecting the idea out of hand. Some former Trump White House officials and diplomats also criticized it. A currently serving diplomat told the Daily Beast that he was “at a fucking loss” over the White House’s comments.

On Thursday afternoon, the Senate announced it would hold a vote on a symbolic, nonbinding resolution basically saying, “Hey, Trump, we really, really don’t think you should let Russia interrogate US officials.” Shortly after, Sanders put out a statement saying that Trump “disagrees” with Putin’s proposal, but it was too little, too late. The Senate resolution passed in a unanimous 98-0 vote. The damage was done. It looked like Trump had been planning to “sell out” a former top US diplomat and several other Americans who were critical of Vladimir Putin. And all for a ridiculous offer from Putin to “help” Mueller investigate his own people.

Quote:At the post-summit news conference in Helsinki, Mr Putin offered access to 12 Russians indicted in absentia by the US authorities for allegedly hacking Democratic Party computers, on condition Moscow authorities could question 12 Americans over other matters. Mr Trump first praised the suggestion as an "incredible offer", but White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later said the president disagreed with it. No extradition treaty exists between the two countries. 

Mr Putin singled out US-born financier Bill Browder, accusing him of massive tax fraud, which he denies. Mr Browder was instrumental in the US imposing sanctions in 2012 on top Russian officials accused of corruption in the Magnitsky affair. "I'm thankful that Donald Trump has no intention of handing me over to Vladimir Putin to have me killed in a Russian prison," Mr Browder told the BBC on Thursday. One of the other Americans on Russia's list was a former US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul.

Quote:Vladimir Putin spontaneously singled out one man who poses a unique threat to the Russian leader's massive fortune at Monday's press conference, and it may hint at one of Putin's greatest weaknesses. The man in question is Bill Browder, a US-born British financier behind the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 US law designed to sanction Russians suspected of carrying out human-rights offenses, freeze their foreign assets, and bar them from entering the US. Several countries have also passed versions of the legislation. Many of these Russians are tied to Putin's government, and much of Putin's personal wealth is believed to be tied up in those foreign assets. On Monday, Putin suggested allowing US officials to interview Russians suspected of interfering with the 2016 election in exchange for interviewing people close to Browder.

Browder said on Monday that Putin's offhand remark showed he was "seriously rattled" by the Magnitsky Act's growing popularity around the world. Browder wrote in Time: "Putin almost never utters the names of his enemies — except for mine, which he lately seems to utter at every opportunity. To my mind, this can only mean that he is seriously rattled." President Barack Obama signed the Magnitsky Act into law in 2012, and other countries, including the UK, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, have similar versions. Britain amended its law in May, following the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in southern England, to allow the government to impose sanctions on human-rights violators; a 2017 version allowed the government only to freeze their assets.

Browder told The Washington Post on Monday: "This is an incredibly powerful tribute to the power of the Magnitsky Act. This shows I've found Putin's Achilles' heel, that he's very rattled by it." He added: "For a guy who's supposed to be a former KGB spy, he's got a terrible poker face." The act was named after Browder's lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who Browder says was put in pretrial detention, tortured, and killed in Russian custody in 2009 after uncovering a tax-fraud scheme implicating high-level Kremlin officials and allies of Putin.