Trump questions his own intelligence agency at summit with Putin

Standing next to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump openly questioned his own intelligence agencies’ conclusions that Moscow was to blame for meddling in the 2016 US election to Trump’s benefit and seemed to accept Putin’s insistence that Russia’s hands were clean.

In Helsinki, Putin said he did indeed want to Trump to win in 2016 — because of his policies — but took no action to make it happen.

“I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,” Trump said, repeatedly denouncing the special counsel investigation into Russian interference efforts, which intelligence officials warn are ongoing.

“I don’t see any reason why Russia would interfere in the 2016 election,” Trump said.

It was an extraordinary press conference closing out the Trump-Putin summit, in which the American president delivered what amounted to a warm embrace to the man who for years has been isolated by the US and Western allies for Russia’s activities in Ukraine, Syria and beyond.

Trump said he and Putin “spent a great deal of time” discussing allegations of Russian election meddling as they met for several hours Monday.

But Trump declined the opportunity to denounce Putin for the interference efforts, which US intelligence agencies insist did occur, including hacking of Democratic emails, the subject of last week’s indictment of 12 Russians.

Trump said, as he has countless times, that there was “no collusion” between his campaign and the Russians.

“We ran a brilliant campaign and that’s why I’m president,” he said.

The summit began just hours after Trump blamed the United States — and not Russian election meddling or its annexation of Crimea — for a low-point in US-Russia relations.

“Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse,” Trump tweeted Monday morning, blaming “many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!”

The Russian foreign ministry responded by liking Trump’s tweet and then replying: “We agree”.

Asked about the tweet and whether he held Russia responsible for anything, Trump said he held “both countries responsible” thinks the United States has been “fooling” and that “we’re all to blame”.

“The probe is a disaster for our country. There was no collusion at all.”

Putin, speaking through an interpreter, once again denied what he described as “so-called interference of Russia”.

He called it “nonsense” and insisted the Russian state had never interfered and would never interfere in the American electoral process.

The pair had opened their long-awaited summit Monday with a wink and slouch, respectively, then talked one on one behind closed doors for two-plus hours before the American leader declared their meeting was off to a “very, very good start for everybody”.

“We have not been getting along well for the last number of years,” Trump said after arriving at the Presidential Palace in Finland’s capital, where the leaders are meeting.

“But I think we will end up having an extraordinary relationship. … I really think the world wants to see us get along.”

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Putin, for his part, said he and Trump have maintained regular contact through phone calls and meetings at international events but “the time has come to have a thorough discussion on various international problems and sensitive issues.”

He added, “there are quite a few of them for us to pay attention to”.

Trump’s comments, at a joint news conference Monday after summit talks with Putin, drew heavy criticism back in the US, including from prominent Republicans Senator John McCain was most outspoken, declaring that Trump made a “conscious choice to defend a tyrant” and achieved “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.”

Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said Trump made the US “look like a pushover.”

With Associated Press.