President Trump on Monday put the brakes on a preliminary plan to impose additional economic sanctions on Russia, walking back a Sunday announcement by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley that the Kremlin had swiftly denounced as “international economic raiding.”
Preparations to punish Russia anew for its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government over an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria caused consternation at the White House. Haley had said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that sanctions on Russian companies behind the equipment related to Assad’s alleged chemical weapons attack would be announced Monday by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
But Trump conferred with his national security advisers later Sunday and told them he was upset the sanctions were being officially rolled out because he was not yet comfortable executing them, according to several people familiar with the plan. (our emphasis)Oops.
Clearly, there's nothing more important -- especially now -- for un- indicted co- conspirator and Putin puppet Donald "Rump" Trump than keeping Putin from exposing what he has on him. That should come as no shock to anyone with a pulse at this stage. At this point, way Rump reacts to anything that might harm, offend or upset Putin is a giant tell. But, it's the continuing chaos, rinky- dink amateurism and lack of cohesion of the Rump team, especially on the subject of Russian sanctions, that also, uh, impresses.
Some officials said the misunderstanding could have been the result of Haley’s tendency to speak directly with the president, sometimes outside of the normal policy process. “She’ll usually talk to the president without the rest of the White House and get her remarks cleared directly,” said the senior administration official. “Often we don’t know about them.”
Early in the Trump administration, there were conflicts between Haley’s team and the president on Russia. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, Haley delivered a speech at the United Nations that recommitted the White House to the Obama administration’s policy on sanctions related to Russian aggression in Ukraine. The speech was cleared by David Cattler, then a senior official on the National Security Council, but the remarks frustrated Trump, who demanded to know who had approved them.Of course, Haley will immediately submit her resignation, being the typical Rump appointee of high ethical standards and honor. =crickets=
(h/t our friend P.E.C.)
