'IN PUTIN’S POCKET'
Donald Trump accused of ‘treason’ by ex-CIA boss after historic talks with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki
DONALD Trump was accused of "treason" by an ex-CIA boss after his historic summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki yesterday.
Former intelligence chief John Brennan said the President is "in the pocket" of the Russian leader after Trump hailed successful talks "towards a brighter future."
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Brennan tweeted: "Donald Trump's press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes & misdemeanors'. It was nothing short of treasonous."
He added: "Not only were Trump's comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you?"
Both leaders hailed "useful" talks in Helsinki, but Trump is facing a backlash - being labelled a traitor for appearing to ignore US intelligence in favour of Putin's word.
Following the meeting, Trump hailed 'open and deeply productive' talks with the Russian President and insisted Moscow had not interfered with the 2016 US election.
What we know so far:
- Donald Trump has arrived in Helsinki, Finland, ready for his first 'one-on-one' meeting with Vladimir Putin this morning
- The meeting is going ahead despite an ongoing FBI probe in America into alleged Russian interference in the US election
- Investigator Robert Mueller's team indicted 12 Russian spies on Friday, accusing them of a "sustained effort" to hack the Democrats in 2016
- Trump denies his team colluded with the Russian hacking campaign and has labelled it a 'Rigged Witch Hunt' in today's tweets
- His meeting with Putin comes just days after he spent a week sowing discord among traditional allies Nato, Britain and the EU
- Allies now fear he may offer concessions to Vladimir Putin that could include recognising Russian possession of the Crimea, or the relaxing of economic sanctions
- Yesterday, in an interview with CBS, Trump said the EU was one of America's biggest "foes" alongside Russian and China
- In a Good Morning Britain interview with Piers Morgan, Trump said he wanted the US to "get along" with Russia and called Putin a "competitor"
- Putin - notorious for keeping people waiting - arrived in Helsinki this morning almost an hour late for the meeting with Trump
- The pair then posed for photographs together and gave brief comments to waiting media before an extremely tense-looking handshake
- Following the meeting, Trump hailed 'open and deeply productive' talks with the Russian President and insisted Moscow had not interfered with the 2016 US election.
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He said: "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.
"He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be.”
Trump and his administration are at the centre of an FBI probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking for links between Trump's team and Russian election interference.
On Friday Mueller indicted 12 Russian members of the Russian intelligence agency GRU, accusing them of engaging in a "sustained effort" to hack Democrats' emails and computers.
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Trump openly questioned his own agencies’ finding while appearing to accept Putin's denial that Russia meddled in the 2016 race.
Putin admitted to backing Trump, adding: "I wanted him to win because he talked about normalising Russian-American relations."
As the two powerhouses met across a small table in front of the world's media, Trump appeared to wink at Putin.
After two hours of private discussions Trump declared: "We made the first steps towards a brighter future, grounded on cooperation and peace. Refusing to engage will not accomplish anything.
"The disagreements between our two countries are well-known and president Putin and I discussed them at length today.
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"Even during the tensions of the Cold War, when the world looked much different than it does today, Russia and the US were able to maintain a strong dialogue.
"Our relationship has never been worse than it is now. However, that changed. As of about four hours ago. This was a very constructive day. I’m sure we’ll be meeting again in the future, often."
Putin, looking noticeably happier than earlier in the day, said: "The Cold War has ended a long time ago, the situation in the world has drastically changed. Russia and the United States are now facing totally different challenges."
He added the meeting marked the first steps to restore "an acceptable level of trust and go back to previous level of interaction on all mutual interest issues".
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin hold joint news conference after summit in Helsinki and Russian leader says: 'The Cold War is over'
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Donald Trump denies claims of Russian interference in 2016 US election and says he's president because he ran a 'brilliant campaign'
Back in the US, Trump’s statement has led to strong criticism from both sides of the political aisle.
Even staunch Trump supporter Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, called Trump's comments "the most serious mistake of his presidency" and said they "must be corrected immediately."
Trump had earlier attacked the ongoing FBI probe, dubbing it a "Rigged Witch Hunt" in a series of tweets.
Earlier Trump tweeted: "Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!
Vlad slams 'dirty dossier' claims
Putin dismissed "nonsense" claims that the Kremlin possesses "compromising material" showing the US President cavorting with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room.
Responding to a question about the so-called “dirty dossier”, compiled by Brit spy Christopher Steele, the Kremling strongman insisted he did not even know about Trump’s 2013 trip to Russia.
He said: “I've heard about us allegedly collecting compromising material on him when he came to Moscow.
“When he came to Moscow I didn't even know he was there.
"It's hard to imagine more nonsense. Throw this rubbish out of your head."
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Donald Trump congratulates Putin on the World Cup success during Helsinki summit
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"President Obama thought that Crooked Hillary was going to win the election, so when he was informed by the FBI about Russian Meddling, he said it couldn’t happen, was no big deal, & did NOTHING about it.
"When I won it became a big deal and the Rigged Witch Hunt headed by Strzok!"
Trump also faces allegations that Russia has dirt on him, something Putin denies.
He landed in Helsinki yesterday to prepare for today's meeting with the Russian leader having also described the EU as one of the US's biggest "foes".
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Moment Donald Trump WINKS at Putin during high stakes summit
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Meanwhile, on Good Morning Britain today, Trump doubled down on longstanding claims he wants to "get along" with Putin.
He told co-host Piers Morgan: "Look, if we can get along with Russia, that's a good thing. I don't know him, I met him a couple of times, I met him at the G20. I think we could probably get along very well.
"Somebody said are you friends or enemies? I said, well it's too early to say right now. We're competitors.
"But for Russia and the United States and frankly the UK to get along with Russia and China and all these other places around the world, that's a good thing, not a bad thing."
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Trump's meeting with Putin also comes amid of backdrop of furious attacks against his Nato allies, Theresa May's Brexit negotiations and the EU.
On the subject of trade, Trump yesterday told : “Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union, but they’re a foe.
"Russia is a foe in certain respects. China is a foe economically, certainly a foe."
Before his stop in Britain, Trump butted heads with America’s Euro allies while at a Nato Summit in Brussels.
He chided members of the alliance for not spending more on defence and blasted Germany for buying gas from Russia.
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PUTIN'S LOVE LIFE
Vladimir Putin met former Aeroflot flight attendant Lyudmila Shkrebneva in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and married her in July 1983. They had two daughters, the second of whom was born in Dresden when Putin was stationed in East Germany.
But in June 2013 the couple announced they were to separate and the end of their marriage was confirmed in April the following year.
Glamorous gymnastics champion Alina Kabaeva is now rumoured to be Putin's current partner.
The Olympic gold medal winner and TV favourite has not had any other suitors since 2008 despite being one of Russia's most eligible women.
She was first romantically linked with Putin a decade ago.
The Kremlin has denied she is his secret First Lady but rumours have persisted including claims she gave birth to at least one child.
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Why are the talks so important?
It was feared Putin could use today's meeting to persuade Trump to downgrade his military commitments in Europe - hugely compromising Nato countries against Russian aggression.
It's also feared the pair could try to wrangle a deal in which Trump offers concessions to Putin, such as handing him the Crimea or loosening economic sanctions.
Trump has been bullish that the meeting goes ahead despite accusations his administration may have colluded with Russian spies to rig the election in his favour.
And it has been somewhat overshadowed by the announcement on Friday that 12 Russian spies have been indicted, accused of hacking Democrats' emails - the strongest evidence yet of Russian election interference.
The summit also comes at a time of mounting tensions between Russia and Europe, after the poisoning of Sergei Skripal on British soil led to the expulsion of scores of diplomats on both sides.
WHAT IS THE RUSSIA PROBE TRUMP CALLS A 'RIGGED WITCH HUNT?'
An investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is currently underway in the US to look into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
It is claimed Russian hackers gained access to the Democrats' emails and then released embarrassing information in a bid to discredit Hillary Clinton.
What is still disputed is the extent to which Donald Trump, his future administration and campaign advisers may have played in this.
He has continued to deny any "collusion" between his campaign and the interference, but severeal former campaign aides are facing charges.
Trump has repeatedly labelled the probe a Democrat "witch hunt" and "biased", suggesting it is being led by Clinton supporters.
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