White House denounces media coverage of Trump-Putin talk as ‘Russian fever’
CLOSE
President Donald Trump had another, previously undisclosed conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit it Germany.
Time
WASHINGTON – President Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had a strictly social conversation at a crowded summit dinner this month, Trump administration officials said Wednesday, denouncing news coverage of the previously undisclosed meeting.Â
“Once again, the Russian fever has caught up with the media,” White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said.
Related:Â
The revelation of a second Trump-Putin conversation – hours after a formal bilateral meeting July 7 on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany – sparked criticism of Trump’s outreach toward Russia.Â
Trump’s dealings with Putin are under intense scrutiny amid ongoing investigations into what intelligence agencies call Russia interference in last year’s presidential election. Multiple congressional committees and a special counsel are also investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.Â
“Scandal dealing with Russia is swirling around this administration, and rather than provide answers, the President’s behavior only leaves us asking more questions,” said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Sanders said Trump spoke with Putin and other world leaders at a dinner for G-20 members that was part of the president’s public schedule. She declined to provide details about the talk, but said it was social in nature.
There is a dispute over the amount of time Trump and Putin spent together at the dinner, which was for heads of state at the global summit.Â
Political scientist Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, disclosed the dinner table meeting between the two presidents, and said that other G-20 leaders took notice of the chat that he said lasted up to an hour.
Replying to a Trump tweet Tuesday night calling “fake news” coverage of the second Putin talk “sick,” Bremmer said: “Press didn’t know you spent an hour during dinner in 1-1 discussion w Putin ( his translator). Other G20 leaders found it… unusual.”
Said Sanders: “We weren’t following them around with a stop watch. It was a brief conversation and certainly not an hour.”
Trump’s first, official meeting with Putin at the G-20 summit was scheduled for a half hour but instead lasted two hours and 16 minutes.Â
The two leaders agreed to work toward an agreement not to meddle in each other’s elections in the future – and announced they would work together on enforcing a cease fire in Syria.Â