Putin: Trump Was "Satisfied" With Denial Of Russian Interference In U.S. Elections

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Putin told the press today at the G20 summit that Donald Trump was "satisfied" with Putin's denial of interference in the 2016 presidential election.

From the New York Times:

There was a certain degree of exulting in the Russian capital on Saturday in the wake of the first meeting between President Vladimir V. Putin and President Trump, with Mr. Putin himself saying that the American president seemed satisfied with his answers on the hacking issue and that the talks had set the stage for improved relations.

Asked repeatedly about the two presidents’ conversation about accusations of Russian hacking during the 2016 American election, Mr. Putin said at a news conference in Hamburg, Germany, that Mr. Trump had paid a lot of attention to the issue, asking multiple questions.

“When possible, I answered his questions in detail,” Mr. Putin said, noting that he had reviewed previous exchanges that he had had with former President Barack Obama on the topic. “I got the impression that my answers satisfied him.”

And asked repeatedly whether Mr. Trump believed his denials about Russian interference, Mr. Putin said each time that the reporter should ask the American president.

The two accounts of the meeting — one from Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, and the other by the American secretary of state, Rex W. Tillerson, the only two officials in the room besides the two presidents — differed in some important details.

Notably, Mr. Tillerson said that Mr. Trump had confronted the Mr. Putin about Russian interference in the 2016 election during a “robust and lengthy” discussion. In Mr. Lavrov’s account, Mr. Trump accepted Mr. Putin’s denial.

“Believe Lavrov,” Mr. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told reporters on Saturday when asked about the divergent accounts. Some Russian officials expressed particular delight at that version.

While Putin advises asking Donald Trump about his take on the denial of interference, the fact is we can't because unlike other major world leaders Trump failed to hold a press conference at the end of the G20 summit.

The fact is Trump isn't really interested in finding out the truth. His own intelligence agencies have stated categorically that not only did Russia interfere in the 2016 elections, but they have gone so far as to say with confidence that it was by order of Putin.

For Trump to be "satisfied" with the denial of a Russian president over the word of the U.S. intelligence community is outrageous. It means the Donald would rather believe Putin than experienced U.S. intelligence agents.

And by the way, what did the Donald expect Putin to say when asked about the interference?

"Oops - you got me!" ???

Watch Putin's press conference below. His answers regarding the Trump meeting begin around the :39 mark.