30 Jan 2019 11:00 am
WTF is he talking to Putin about that he doesn't even want his own people to know about?Trump Had Yet Another Secret Meeting With Putin
It’s been a rough month for anyone still pretending that President Trump’s relationship with Russia is on the level.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that when Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin during the G-20 summit in November, no U.S. official was on hand to take notes.
The only other two people present for the conversation, which lasted roughly 15 minutes, were First Lady Melania Trump and Putin’s translator.
The group was reportedly “among the last to leave” their table.
Though the White House had acknowledged that the two spoke informally while in Argentina, the conversation was “longer and more substantive” than had been implied previously.
The White House also failed to note that no official was present as the two leaders spoke.
The news comes just weeks after the Washington Post reported that Trump went out of his way to hide details of his conversation with Putin at the 2017 G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.
Though a U.S. translator was present at that meeting, Trump confiscated her notes and told her not to discuss what was said with any other administration officials (then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was also present).
During a dinner that night, Trump sought out Putin for a second, informal meeting that lasted close to an hour.
He didn’t tell advisers about this second meeting, and the White House didn’t confirm it took place until after it was reported on days later.