Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2019)
A6 NATION/WORLD East Oregonian Thursday, June 27, 2019 Helsinki, Mueller shadowing upcoming Trump, Putin meeting By JONATHAN LEMIRE AND VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press NEW YORK — The shadow of Helsinki lingers. Uncertainties about Russia’s past and future election inter- ference continue. And ten- sions are high over hot spots from Iran to Venezuela. When President Donald Trump and Russian Presi- dent Vladimir Putin meet this week on the sidelines of an international summit in Japan, it will mark a new chapter in a much scruti- nized relationship that crack- les with questions and con- tradictions. Even as Trump places a premium on estab- lishing close personal ties with Putin, his government has increased sanctions and other pressures on Moscow. The agenda remains a mystery, as still does the out- come of their last meeting, nearly a year ago in Finland. “The whole world was watching in Helsinki when President Trump sided with Putin over his own intelli- gence community and we still, all this time later, don’t know what they discussed in their private meeting,” said Michael McFaul, U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama. “And now, I suspect, they will bond over the end of the Mueller probe and push the narrative, individually and together, that there was noth- ing there. It will feel like a vindication to them both.” The Group of 20 summit in Osaka will be the lead- ers’ fi rst meeting since spe- cial counsel Robert Mueller ended his investigation with no fi nding that the Trump campaign in 2016 conspired with Russia. That question long had shadowed Trump’s presidency. Putin has denied that Rus- sia meddled in the American election to help Trump win, even though Mueller uncov- ered extensive evidence to the contrary. That included a Russian military intelli- gence operation to break into Democratic Party emails and efforts by a “troll farm” to spread divisive rhetoric and undermine the U.S. political system by using phony social media accounts. The current tensions with Iran are certain to be a meet- ing topic. Trump last week called off airstrikes to retali- ate for Iran’s destruction of a U.S. drone hours after Putin said the use of U.S. force in the region would trigger a “catastrophe.” Putin’s defense of Teh- ran is not the only author- itarian government that he has backed. Putin has sup- ported Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and Syria’s Bashar Assad, helping keep each in power despite Ameri- can opposition. Moscow’s AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File In this July 16, 2018, fi le photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. deepening ties with China also have unnerved many in Washington. For years, Trump has raised eyebrows with his effusive praise of Putin. The Russian president has stead- fastly refused to criticize Trump, saying Russia-U.S. relations have become hos- tage to American politi- cal infi ghting and its “deep state.” “Even if the president wants to take some steps for- ward, to discuss something, there are plenty of restric- tions coming from other state structures,” Putin said in a radio call-in event last week, adding that he believed Trump’s re-election bid will further tie his hands. “Dia- logue is always good and necessary. If the American side shows interest in that, we are naturally ready for a dia- logue as much as our part- ners are.” The leaders last year announced their withdrawal from a key arms control pact, the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. It is set to terminate this sum- mer, raising fears of a new arms race. Another major nuclear agreement, the New Start treaty, is set to expire in 2021 unless Moscow and Washington negotiate an extension. “The relationship between the two nations is in poor shape by any measure and the administration policy toward Russia is relatively tough even though the president’s rhetoric is not,” said Richard Haass, president of the Coun- cil on Foreign Relations. “There is nothing teed up to succeed at this meeting.” Along with arms control frictions, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine weigh heavily on Russia-U.S. rela- tions. Last November, Trump abruptly canceled a sched- uled round of talks with Putin on the sidelines of a summit in Argentina, citing Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian navy ships and their crews. The two men briefl y spoke later. Putin’s primary goal is to get Trump to ease sanctions that Congress has stepped in and toughened. Putin acknowledged last week that U.S. and Euro- pean Union sanctions have cost Russia an estimated $50 billion since 2014. That has helped weaken Putin’s hand and reduced his hopes for some grand bargain that would elevate Russia’s power around the globe. As for Trump’s aims, “it’s hard to know what the White House’s goals are because this is not a normal administra- tion,” said Kimberly Marten, political science chair at Bar- nard College. “If it were, you could imagine progress being made on New Start treaty and arms control, while also trying to avoid confl ict esca- lation in areas where their interests oppose, like Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Ukraine. But I am not sure what the purpose of the meet- ing is.” All of Trump’s meet- ings with Putin have raised questions. At their fi rst one, in Ger- many in 2017, Trump took his interpreter’s notes afterward and ordered him not to dis- close what he heard to anyone. Trump later sat next to Putin at dinner without any Amer- Insurance problems? ican witnesses. That fall, in Vietnam, Trump listened to Putin’s denials about interfer- ing with the 2016 election. And last July, Trump and Putin spent more than two hours in a private meeting in Helsinki with only their inter- preters present. Some U.S. intelligence offi cials were never briefed on the discus- sions. On Monday, the chair- man of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said the White House never responded to a February let- ter asking what happened to records of the discussion. At the news conference that followed the Helsinki summit, Trump responded to a reporter’s question by declining to denounce Rus- sia’s election interference or side with his own intelligence agencies over Putin. Last week, when asked on NBC if he would warn Putin not to interfere in the 2020 election, Trump offered “I may.” He made no promises to push to safeguard the American vote. “This meeting, like their others, feels fraught with uncertainty,” said McFaul. BRIEFLY Senate passes $4.6 billion border aid measure; Pelosi seeks talks WASHINGTON (AP) — The GOP-held Senate on Wednesday passed a bipartisan $4.6 billion measure to deliver aid to the southern border before the government runs out of money to care for thousands of migrant fam- ilies and unaccompanied children. The sweeping 84-8 vote came less than 24 hours after the Democratic-controlled House approved a companion measure backed by party liberals that was weighed down by a White House veto threat and bipartisan rejection by the Senate. Republicans and the White House far prefer the Sen- ate measure but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is press- ing for quick negotiations to merge the bills — promis- ing that Democrats won’t knuckle under to demands to send the Senate bill directly to President Donald Trump without changes. The Senate vote sent the must-pass legislation mea- sure back to the Democratic-controlled House. Next steps are unclear, but Pelosi quickly dismissed specula- tion that the Democratic-controlled House will simply accept the Senate measure, which cleared a key commit- tee last week with just one dissenting vote. Asked if the House would pass the Senate bill and send it to Trump, Pelosi said, “No.” Pelosi called Trump Wednesday afternoon to discuss the measure. “There’s some improvements that we think can be reconciled,” Pelosi told reporters. Victims question Kamala Harris’ record on clergy abuse SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Joey Piscitelli was angry when Kamala Harris emerged as a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination. It brought back the frustration he felt in the 2000s, when he was a newly minted spokesman for clergy sex abuse victims and Har- ris was San Francisco’s district attorney. Piscitelli says Harris never responded to him when he wrote to tell her that a priest who had molested him was still in ministry at a local Catholic cathedral. And, he says, she didn’t reply fi ve years later when he wrote again, urging her to release records on accused clergy to help other alleged victims who were fi ling lawsuits. “She did nothing,” said Piscitelli, today the Northern California spokesman for SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Survivors of clergy abuse and their attorneys say that Harris’ record on fi ghting sex abuse within the Catho- lic Church is relevant as the U.S. senator from Califor- nia campaigns for the presidency as a tough-on-crime ex-prosecutor who got her start prosecuting child sexual abuse cases. They complain that Harris was consistently silent on the Catholic Church’s abuse scandal — fi rst as district attorney in San Francisco and later as Califor- nia’s attorney general. In a statement to The Associated Press, the Harris campaign underscored her record of supporting child sex abuse victims but did not address her silence regarding victims abused by Catholic clerics. The EO’s Biggest Special Publication of the Year COMING September 4th, 2019 We can help Trust your advertising dollar to a company that has been in the publishing business for more than a century. dfr.oregon.gov • Proven Distribution network of 20,000 magazines • Distributed in the East Oregonian, Hermiston Herald, Wallowa County Chieftan, Blue Mountain Eagle, LaGrand Observer and Baker City Herald. • Available in Hotels, Motels and RV Parks and Pendleton Chamber of Commerce. • Collectible High Gloss Magazine • Trust your advertising dollar to a company that has been in the Round-Up Business for years. St. Anthony Provider Spotligh t • Early bird advertising rates available now, reserve your space now! JD Ward, DO. OB/GYN is now accepting new patients. Obstetrics and Gynecology Education: Boise State University, Western University of Health Science Board Certifi cation: Board Certifi ed American, Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology Insurance Accepted: Most major insurances, Medicare, Medicaid Special Services: Obstetrics JD Ward, DO. OB/GYN 3001 St. Anthony Way Pendleton, OR 97801 Call for your appointment today 541.966.0535 FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.SAHPENDLETON.ORG Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 Rowan Treadwell 541-278-2670 atreadwell@eastoregonian.com rowan@eastoregonian.com Grace Bubar 541-276-2214 Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 gbubar@eastoregonian.com jjewett@hermistonherald.com Audra Workman 541-564-4538 aworkman@eastoregonian.com
