When President Trump holds his first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday, he will not only be dealing with high-stakes international issues but also will be under intense political scrutiny at home.
Any sign of weakness from Trump in his meeting with Putin will open him up to criticism from Democrats, many of whom steadfastly believe the president at least partially owes his election to Russian hacking last year, and Russia hawks in his own party, many of whom have been concerned about his desire for an opening with Moscow.
Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has been described as a "cloud" over the White House by Trump himself. The matter is being investigated by a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department and multiple congressional committees.
Democrats have been searching for evidence of collusion between the Russians who hacked into their party leaders' emails and the Trump campaign. Top congressional Democrats pressed Trump on Thursday to raise the issue in his meeting with Putin and forthrightly condemn any election inference by Moscow.
"The integrity of our democracy and the security of the free world depend on the United States stopping Russia's unchecked assault on our election systems," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement. "President Trump needs to confront Putin for hacking our democratic systems and make it clear the United States will not tolerate further meddling."
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05.01.2024