Trump's Briefed On North Korea...By Russia

Well now we know whose agenda Kremlin asset and incompetent liar Donald "Rump" Trump will be advancing in his photo-op with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (Associated Press headline):

Russia: US asks for advice on North Korea talks

The AP story indicates that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who by the strangest coincidence is in Hanoi now, has been bragging to Russian media that the Rump regime has solicited their advice on the talks between Rump and Kim. Lavrov helpfully suggested that the U.S. offer Kim "security guarantees" (i.e., withdrawal of all U.S. forces from S. Korea and a formal peace treaty) in order to get Kim to denuclearize. However, since Kim sees nuclear weapons as his regime's insurance policy, and sees Rump as volatile and subject to whim, he won't disarm (although he'll con Rump into thinking so). That's why national security experts are so worried about Rump's "negotiating" one-on-one and giving away the store for vague or empty promises from Kim. Kim knows Rump is desperate for a "win" on the global stage and for his 2020 campaign and therefore can be had at a low price.

BONUS:  Alex Ward has some insights on what will come out of the Rump- Kim photo- op.

Trump's Russophilia Concerns His Nat'l. Security Team

The news that Putin puppet and Russian money-launderer Donald "Rump" Trump has scrapped the CIA's support for anti-Assad forces in Syria is just the latest example of his eagerness to do things in Moscow's interest. Through his decision, Rump has given his friend, Russian thug and autocrat Vladimir "Vlad the Invader" Putin a free hand in Syria on behalf of dictator and war criminal Bashar al-Assad. He's also strengthened the hand of Iran, which is a major supporter of Assad in the region.

We don't know what Rump discussed with Putin in his three hours of talks in Hamburg during the G-20 meetings, including a one hour head-to-head with no one else present but Putin's interpreter. He laughingly claimed yesterday that they discussed adoption of Russian children by Americans, something that was halted by Russia after the Magnitsky Act was passed in 2012, which imposed sanctions on many of Putin's closest Kremlin allies. So, if they discussed "adoptions" they discussed lifting those sanctions, since the two go hand-in-hand in Putin's mind. There's the likelihood that they also discussed the return of two properties used for Russian espionage, one on Maryland's eastern shore and the other in New York, that were closed by President Obama following Moscow's meddling in the elections. Rump has shown a willingness to return the properties, which would give Moscow the green light to continue its cyber attacks on the U.S. (Who knows - he may have even asked Putin to be his "cleaner" on any pesky past financial transactions.)

There's purportedly some angst among Rump's national security and foreign policy teams about his "Russia First" attitude when dealing with Putin. He met either alone or with one advisor with the Kremlin thug longer than any other leader while in Hamburg, notably seeming to diminish the North Korean crisis that will have to involve the leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea. Rump having one-on-one meetings with former KGB colonel Putin was something Rump's advisors wanted to avoid at all costs in Hamburg, lest he give away the store (or intelligence) to curry favor with his handler. With the Syrian decision and the desire to capitulate on the Russian compounds, it looks like he's well on his way to doing just that for now.