Grassley on Trump calling Putin: 'I wouldn't have a conversation with a criminal' [View all]
Source: The Hill
BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 03/21/18 11:09 AM EDT
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says he wouldn’t have called Russian President Vladimir Putin to congratulate him on his reelection, referring to the Russian leader as a “criminal.”
Grassley’s comments to reporters on Wednesday were a pointed reproof in response to President Trump’s call to Putin the previous day, which sparked backlash after Trump declined to press Putin on the fairness of Russia's election and the poisoning of a former Russian double agent living in England.
“I think Putin is a criminal. What he did in Georgia, what he did in Ukraine, what he did in Baltic, what he’s done in London poisoning people with active nerve gas, that’s a criminal act. I wouldn’t have a conversation with a criminal,” Grassley said when asked about Trump's call.
Trump in his conversation with Putin also did not raise concerns about allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election but did congratulate Putin for winning another six-year term over the weekend.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/379499-grassley-trumps-call-to-criminal-putin-was-inappropriate
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