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Trump drew fire from Republicans and Democrats alike for telling
reporters on Tuesday that he had congratulated Putin on his
re-election and that the two leaders had made tentative plans to
meet in the "not too distant future."
The Washington Post reported that Trump, in his briefing papers
to prepare for the phone call with Putin on Tuesday, was
specifically warned "DO NOT CONGRATULATE" the Russian president.
White House officials did not dispute the report, but said
whoever leaked it could be subject to dismissal.
A Trump confidant who asked not to be named said Trump was angry
about the leak, and a White House official said John Kelly,
Trump's chief of staff, was "frustrated and deeply
disappointed."
In a pair of tweets on his call with Putin, Trump said U.S. news
organizations "wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong!
Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a
bad thing."
"They can help solve problems with North Korea, Syria, Ukraine,
ISIS, Iran and even the coming Arms Race," Trump said.
Trump's congratulations to Putin, which came shortly after he
joined Britain in blaming Russia for a poison nerve gas attack
against a former Russian spy in southern England, has revived
criticism that Trump has been too tolerant of the Russian
leader.
Trump is under investigation by U.S. Special Counsel Robert
Mueller on whether he or his aides colluded with Russia during
the 2016 presidential election that Trump won. Trump calls the
probe a political witch hunt.
Trump’s overture to Putin has drawn heavy fire by critics who
called Sunday's election rigged.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said there was a “lack of
credibility in tallying the result." Senator John McCain, a
longtime Putin critic, was even blunter, saying: "An American
president does not lead the Free World by congratulating
dictators on winning sham elections.”
Administration officials said it was unclear if the president
had seen the briefing memo that was leaked to the Post.
"If this story is accurate, that means someone leaked the
president's briefing papers. Leaking such information is a
fireable offense and likely illegal," said a senior White House
official, who requested anonymity.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio said he did not like Trump's
congratulations to Putin but thought the leak was worse.
"If you don't like the guy, quit. But to be this duplicitous and
continue to leak things out, it's dangerous," Rubio told
reporters.
White House officials have said that Trump is less trusting of
Putin because of Russian activities in Ukraine, Syria and
elsewhere.
Last week, after initially equivocating about the chemical
attack on the former Russian double agent in Salisbury, England,
the White House joined a statement by the leaders of Britain,
France and Germany in which they said they “abhor the attack”
and blamed it on Moscow.
Moscow has denied any involvement in the poisoning.
The issue came up on Wednesday in a telephone call between Trump
and French President Emmanuel Macron, who is scheduled to visit
the White House in late April, according to a White House
statement.
"The presidents reiterated their solidarity with the United
Kingdom in the wake of Russia’s use of chemical weapons against
private citizens on British soil and agreed on the need to take
action to hold Russia accountable," it said.
But the poisoning incident did not appear to come up in Trump's
call with Putin.
"I don't believe that was discussed in today's call," White
House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on Tuesday.
The leak incident was likely to revive questions about whether
Trump would embark on more turnover in his senior staff after
the departure of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.
Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, is widely seen
as likely to leave at some point, and Kelly himself is said by
Trump confidants to have tested the nerves of the president.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Leslie
Adler)
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