Trump’s latest pro-Putin move prompts bipartisan backlash and awkward questions

President Donald Trump suspended a Russia sanctions law he signed about a month ago, issuing an executive order late Friday, two days before it was due to take effect. The White House cited the national interests of the United States without elaborating. The law, named for Lindsey O. Graham, aimed to penalize Vladimir Putin's government and its trading partners economically, according to MS NOW.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the move a gift to Putin, while congressional Republicans and former Vice President Mike Pence urged a reversal. Trump declined. On Sunday he posted that he is negotiating peace and that enforcing the penalties would likely push Moscow away from talks. That post criticized Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden but never mentioned Putin.

MS NOW's Steve Benen finds the rationale unconvincing, noting that earlier concessions to Moscow, such as relief for Russian diesel fuel, brought no progress toward peace. He points to Dan Coats, Trump's former director of national intelligence, who told Bob Woodward he wondered whether Putin held something over Trump. The Wall Street Journal reports Putin wants a Russia-China-U.S. summit to settle Ukraine's future, without Ukrainian officials.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →