President
Elect Donald Trump pushes-back hard on Lame-duck President Obama’s threats of
reprisals against Russia
Trump’s
verbal barbs weren’t only directed at his current Democrat counterpart ---
Trump says he doesn’t know what Republican Senator Lindsay Graham is talking
about when mentioning targeted sanctions personally directed at Russia’s leader
Vladimir Putin; adding that he doesn’t
talk to Graham
By making
his threats against Russia, Lame-duck Obama might be leaving his successor with
a more complex problem than is necessary
--- Russia expresses its
annoyance at Obama’s stance and promises to respond in kind to any U.S. actions
THE
WASHINGTON POST REPORT
According to a
report in the Washington Post,
President-elect Donald Trump’s pushback against his lame-duck
counterpart was more like a very hard ceremonial shove --- “President-elect Donald Trump
distanced himself Wednesday night from the Obama administration’s plans to
punish Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election,
telling reporters ‘I think we ought to
get on with our lives.’… Trump,
appearing at his Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., was asked what he
thought about the Obama administration’s plans to sanction Russia for what U.S.
intelligence officials say was state-sanctioned hacking of Democratic
organizations, targeting of state election systems and meddling in the U.S.
presidential election…. ‘I think we ought to get on with our lives,’ Trump said
in response. ‘I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly. The
whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what’s going on.
We have speed, we have a lot of other things, but I'm not sure we have the kind
the security we need.’…”. (See “Trump on
alleged election interference by Russia: ‘Get on with our lives’” by John
Wagner, 12/28/16, Washington Post [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/12/28/trump-on-alleged-election-interference-by-russia-get-on-with-our-lives/?utm_term=.789d9f6402b4
]; same as [http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-on-alleged-election-interference-by-russia-%E2%80%98get-on-with-our-lives%E2%80%99/ar-BBxFD8j?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp]).
Questioning
also turned toward proposals raised by GOP hawks, Lindsay Graham and John
McCain. According to John Wagner’s
reporting for the Washington Post, “….Asked
in particular about comments Wednesday by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) that
sanctions should hit Russian leader Vladimir Putin “as an individual,” Trump
demurred…. ‘I don’t know what he’s
doing,’ Trump said of Graham. ‘I haven’t spoken to him. As you know, he ran
against me.’… Trump, whom critics have
accused of being too cozy with Putin, was referring to Graham’s failed 2016 bid
for the Republican presidential nomination….”
The WaPo
article also made note of the following:
“…. During the election,
several Democratic email accounts were hacked, including those of the
Democratic National Committee and of John Podesta, the chairman of Democratic
nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign…. U.S. officials have pinned
the blame on the Russian government -- a finding that Trump has repeatedly said
he views skeptically…. administration
officials are pushing Obama to respond before leaving office.”
THE IBT REPORT
A report on
the same story that appeared in the International Business Times made President
Elect Trump’s remarks seem even tougher and more significant (See “Trump On Russia Sanctions: President-Elect Urges US To ‘Get
On With Our Lives’ Ahead Of Obama Administration’s Possible Restrictions” by Seerat Chabba, 12/29/16, IBT/National
[http://www.ibtimes.com/trump-russia-sanctions-president-elect-urges-us-get-our-lives-ahead-obama-2466778]).
According to the IBT report, “President-elect
Donald Trump on Wednesday showed no inclination toward sanctioning Russia,
despite President Barack Obama’s push for the country to take steps against
Russia over its alleged interference in the election that saw Trump emerge
victorious…."
The IBT
report by Seerat Chabba also mentioned Russia’s response to Obama’s
threats --- “…. Russia has said it will respond to any 'hostile steps' by the U.S., denying all allegations of attempting to influence the elections.... 'If Washington really does take new hostile steps, they will be answered ... any action against Russian diplomatic missions in the US will immediately bounce back on US diplomats in Russia,' CNN quoted the official representative for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, as saying in a statement.... Zakharova added: 'Frankly, we are tired about the lies about Russian hackers — it’s misinformation by Obama administration aimed at providing an excuse for its own failure.'..."
