Donald Trump Asks Joe Biden to Pass a Message to Old Friend Vladimir Putin Whom He Says He Trusts More Than U.S. Intelligence
Former President Donald Trump has asked President Joe Biden to give his "warmest regards" to Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet next week.
According to a The Telegraph report, Donald Trump also said in a statement on Thursday, June 10, that he did not trust U.S. intelligence on Russia's meddling in the 2016 election as he again denied that the Russian government interfered in the poll to aid his campaign.
The former president noted that it "should be obvious" that American intelligence on Russian election meddling should not be trusted.
In his "Save America" campaign statement on Thursday, Trump fondly remembered the 2018 Helsinki summit where he met Putin, who denies Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Donald Trump had also attacked Joe Biden, suggesting that his successor might fall asleep during the upcoming summit with the Russian leader. Despite this, the former president still wished Joe Biden good luck in dealing with Vladimir Putin.
Trump had given Biden a nickname of "Sleepy Joe" during last year's presidential campaign while repeatedly claiming that the president was in mental decline, New York Post reported.
After meeting Queen Elizabeth II this weekend at Windsor Castle, Joe Biden is set to meet Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, June 16, in Geneva, Switzerland. The president will also be attending a NATO summit in Belgium.
Donald Trump's Distrust
The former president complained about the investigation into Russian election interference, which was confirmed not just by U.S. intelligence agencies but also by foreign allies and a Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee, according to a Business Insider report.
Donald Trump maintained his claims that Russia did not meddle with the 2016 election. He noted that because of the "phony Russia hoax made up and paid for by the Democrats" and former presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, the United States was put at a disadvantage that he overcame, The Hill reported.
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, earlier said Biden would be warning Putin during the meeting about the U.S.' action against Russia if it continues to do cyberattacks against the U.S.
Joe Biden is also set to warn the Russian president of the consequences of any meddling in future U.S. elections.
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Russia Meddling in 2016 Presidential Election
In 2018, the U.S. special counsel had accused 13 Russians of an elaborate plot to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, charging them with handling a huge but hidden social media trolling campaign.
The said campaign was aimed partly at aiding Donald Trump to defeat Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, according to an Associated Press report.
Special counsel Robert Mueller brought the federal indictment, detailing allegations of illegal Russian meddling during the campaign.
It also noted the first criminal charges against Russians believed to have secretly worked to influence the election outcome.
The indictment also stated that the Russian organization was funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is a wealthy businessman based in St. Petersburg, with alleged ties to the Russian government and Putin.
Donald Trump earlier tweeted that the Trump campaign did nothing wrong, adding that there was "no collusion" that took place.
The indictment did not focus on the hacking but targets the social media propaganda effort that started in 2014 and continued past the election.
READ MORE: State Department Confirms Texting Russians, Iranians for U.S. Election Interference Info
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