White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election is preventing the U.S. and Russia from having a productive bilateral relationship.
“The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, which is hopefully now nearing an end, is doing very well. Unfortunately, it probably does undermine our relationship with Russia. However, the reason for our canceled meeting is Ukraine. Hopefully, that will be resolved soon so that productive conversations can begin,” Sanders said in a statement Friday.
The president canceled a previously scheduled meeting between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, citing the Russian military seizure of Ukranian ships and sailors. Aboard Air Force One in route to the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the president tweeted that he was canceling the meeting because Russia had not turned over the ships and sailors to Ukraine.
“Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!” Trump tweeted.
The abrupt cancellation came under an hour after the president told reporters outside the White House that the meeting would “probably” take place. The president’s decision to cancel the meeting came after a meeting with White House chief of staff John Kelly and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and national security adviser John Bolton, who spoke over the phone from Brazil.
The Ukrainian military announced last weekend that Russian boats opened fire upon and seized three Ukrainian naval ships and 24 sailors. The two nations have been in an ongoing standoff in the Kerch Strait, a waterway of strategic importance for both countries.
Trump’s cancellation came only hours after news broke that former attorney Michael Cohen accepted a plea deal Thursday from Mueller. Along with the president’s continued tweets and public statements on Mueller’s investigation, Sanders’ statement shows how frustrated the administration is that the Russia investigation has yet to meet a final end.
Cohen pleaded guilty Thursday morning in federal court in Manhattan to lying to congressional committees about ongoing discussions he had about a Trump real estate project in Russia, known as the “Moscow Project.” The former Trump attorney said he violated campaign finance laws “in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office,” meaning then candidate Trump, “for the principal purpose of influencing the election” in 2016.
The former Trump attorney told Congress that the Moscow Project ended in January 2016, but Cohen had communications as late as May 2016 that show he was contemplating a trip to Russia to meet with high-level government officials, business leaders, and bankers about the project. The false statement came as Trump was about to gain the Republican nomination for president.
Cohen also pleaded guilty in August to 8 counts of campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud.
