President Trump signs new Russia sanctions, questions whether bill interferes with foreign policy authority
President Trump has signed a new package of sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea that the Senate approved last week, according to a senior administration official.
Trump will also issue a signing statement questioning whether the legislation interferes with the president’s authority to conduct foreign policy, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly.Â
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that neither he nor Trump were particularly happy with the sanctions bill.Â
“We were clear that we didn’t think it was going to be helpful to our efforts, but that’s the decision they made,” he said, referring to members of Congress. “They made it in a very overwhelming way. I think the president accepts that.”
The legislation bars Trump from easing or waiving the penalties on Russia unless Congress agrees.
Congressional lawmakers have said Trump had little choice but to sign the bill, given the fact Trump and aides are under scrutiny over possible ties to Russia in the wake of its efforts last year to influence the presidential election.Â
Both houses of Congress overwhelmingly passed the legislation, and could have easily overridden any possible Trump veto.
Trump had previously objected to the curbs on his ability to ease sanctions on Russia, a possibility he has raised in the past.
Yet in a statement last week that Trump intended to sign the bill, the White House said Trump “negotiated regarding critical elements” of early drafts of the bill and approved of the final draft “based on its responsiveness to his negotiations.”
Before the White House issued that statement Friday, Moscow retaliated against the possible sanctions by ordering the expulsion of American diplomats and seized recreational property used by embassy staff.
The Russian foreign ministry told Washington to cut its diplomatic staff to 455 by Sept. 1 and said it would shutter a dacha, or country retreat, used by U.S. diplomatic staff on the outskirts of Moscow, as well as some warehouse facilities.Â
Russian President Vladimir Putin previously signaled that his country was prepared to hit back against Washington for what he called “anti-Russian hysteria.”
The sanctions from Washington relate to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea territory and support for a rebellion by separatists in east Ukraine, as well as alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The sanctions are meant to target Putin and his inner circle, a group that the U.S. alleges includes corrupt officials and human rights abusers, and affect weapons sales and vital energy exports.
In late December, before President Obama left office, he sanctioned Russian intelligence officials, expelled 35 Russian diplomats suspected of being spies and shut down two Russian facilities in the United States. The moves were in response to Russia’s campaign of cyberattacks and fake news to influence the U.S. election.
The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Moscow directed the election meddling to help Trump – claims Russia has denied. Trump has also equivocated on whether he agrees with the U.S. intelligence assessment.Â
Putin did not retaliate against Obama’s sanctions in hopes that Trump would roll them back.Â
Vice President Pence said during a Tuesday news conference in Georgia that Trump would sign the latest sanctions bill as a message to Putin’s government about its “destabilizing activities.”
Said Pence: “As always, our country prefers a constructive relationship with Russia based on cooperation and common interests. Â But the president and our Congress are unified in our message to Russia: Â A better relationship, the lifting of sanctions will require Russia to reverse the actions that caused sanctions to be imposed in the first place.”
– Kim Hjelmgaard contributedÂ
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