Hell hath no fury like a Russian scorned. Or so it seems today. Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered asylum in his country to James Comey, “if the former FBI director should face political persecution.” During the 2016 American presidential campaign, Putin and Donald Trump had what was called a “bromance.” So why has Putin suggested that Comey might find the USA unsafe for Comey?
Part of it is publicity. No one likes publicity more than Putin (except Trump), and in neither case does it matter whether the publicity is positive or negative: while the media are talking about them, there will be no coverage of what either administration is doing. But Putin must be disappointed that his American doppelganger has not rescinded Obama era sanctions, helped keep Syria’s President Assad in power, or given him an official deed to Crimea.
Thus, the offer.
“If Comey will be under the threat of political persecution, we are ready to accept him here,” Putin said, speaking at the president’s annual, televised question-and-answering session with the Russian people. “It sounds very strange when the head of the security services writes down a conversation with the commander-in-chief and then leaks it to the media through his friend.”
Putin likened Comey’s actions to those of a human rights defender, even drawing parallels to Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked thousands of documents in 2013. . .
Putin also partially disputed the claims of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
“The FBI director [Andrew McCabe] said there was Russian interference in the U.S. election process but again gave no evidence,” Putin said. “We have our opinion — we say it openly — but it’s not some kind of underground sabotage activity.”
However, classified National Security Agency documents showed that they found Russian election interference in 39 states. The report was dated May 5 and was made public by The Intercept a month later.
Meanwhile, the Hindustan Times reported on the newest move against Russia.
The US Senate passed a legislation with near unanimity on Wednesday that proposes new sanctions against Russia and seeks to prevent the Donald Trump administration from watering down or removing those embargos already in place. . .
The new sanctions [seek] to punish Russia for its role in Syria and the meddling in US elections in 2016.
Meanwhile, Fox says Putin says he doesn’t have “damning information” about Trump.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the idea that Moscow had damning information he could use to blackmail President Trump was “a load of nonsense,” in an interview that aired Sunday night. . .
Also on Fox, Charles Krauthammer says that Putin is “a very good liar.”
He’s referring to Mr Putin shirking off allegations that Russia meddled in the US presidential election in 2016.
“Being a good, well-trained KGB agent, he lies with a smile,” Krauthammer told viewers.
Oliver Stone, the filmmaker who is known for conspiracy theory movies, such as JFK, recently met with Putin.
Mr Putin revealed his true feelings about the US, claiming it “got a false sense that it is able to do everything without any consequences,” in particular after the Soviet Union’s collapse.
He said: “In such a situation, a man or a country begins to make mistakes… The state begins to function ineffectively. One mistake follows another.
The Oliver Stone interview with Putin followed an interview with Megyn Kelly. It appears that he is making a full-force charm offensive. But Kelly was not as easy as Stone.
Russian President Vladimir Putin got into a heated exchange with NBC News anchor Megyn Kelly on Sunday after Kelly asked him to address the growing controversy involving President Donald Trump and his associates’ ties to Russia.
We are not likely to stop hearing from Putin any time soon.
