As Russia Imbroglio Deepens, Trump to Invite Putin to US

Rift widens between Trump and his own administration...

James Comey, James Clapper and John Brennan at a Senate hearing on Russian election interference in January 2017.

The Trump-Russia imbroglio deepened today. 

In a stunning new development, the White House announced that Trump will invite Putin to Washington this fall.

The announcement came late in the afternoon as Andrea Mitchell was interviewing Dan Coats, director of national intelligence. 

In the interview carried by MSNBC and CNN, Coats told Mitchell he didn't know what was said during the Trump-Putin meeting in Helsinki.  

Coats also appeared surprised when Mitchell told him about the White House announcement to invite Putin to Washington.

Later in the day on CNN, Jack Tapper asked a simple question about the Trump-Putin meeting and its aftermath: What the hell is going on?

For a sampling of news coverage: 

-- Washington Examiner: Trump diagnoses the haters with Trump Derangement Syndrome: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign/trump-diagnoses-the-haters-with-trump-derangement-syndrome

-- Business Insider: 'I don't know what the fuss is all about': Trump commends his performance at the widely panned summit with Putin: http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-approves-russia-summit-with-putin-helsinki-2018-7?utm_content=bufferda724&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-bi

-- The New York Times: From the Start, Trump Has Muddied a Clear Message: Putin Interfered: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/world/europe/trump-intelligence-russian-election-meddling-.html

-- Business Insider: Trump was reportedly informed before his inauguration that Putin personally directed election meddling: http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-was-informed-before-inauguration-putin-directed-election-hack-2018-7?utm_content=buffer19f6d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-bi

-- The Washington Post: The Daily 202: Russia imbroglio deepens the disconnect between Trump and his own administration: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2018/07/19/daily-202-russia-imbroglio-deepens-the-disconnect-between-trump-and-his-own-administration/5b4fc62c1b326b1e6469545b/?utm_term=.31809f57d34

-- Vox: The absurd 24 hours unleashed by one bad White House answer: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2018/7/19/17591342/trump-russia-putin-sanders-mcfaul-browder

-- The New Yorker: Michael McFaul and the Astonishment of American Life Under Trump: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/michael-mcfaul-and-the-astonishment-of-american-life-under-trump?mbid=social_facebook

-- Daily Journal: Rosenstein defends charging foreign agents US can't arrest: http://www.dailyjournal.net/2018/07/19/us-justice-hackers/

-- Vice News: Democrats wanted to talk to the only witness to the Trump and Putin meeting.  The GOP said no: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/d3e77a/democrats-wanted-to-talk-to-the-only-witness-to-trump-and-putins-meeting-the-gop-said-no

-- Vice News: Putin Says His Secretive Sit-Down With Trump Led to "Useful Agreements":  https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/7xq8bg/putin-trump-meeting-agreements-helsinki

-- The Washington Free Beacon: Democrats Chant 'USA' on House Floor After Hoyer Speech Blasting "the Russian Bear": https://freebeacon.com/politics/democrats-chant-usa-on-house-floor/amp/

-- NBCNews: Intel Chief Dan Coats explains why he spoke up after Trump-Putin meeting: https://www.nbcnews.com/video/intel-chief-dan-coats-explains-why-he-spoke-out-after-trump-putin-press-conference-1281328195840

-- HuffPost: FBI Director Chris Wray Says Russia's Cyberattacks on US are 'Very Active': https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fbi-director-chris-wray-russia-attacks-active_us_5b4ff7e4e4b0fd5c73c20fa3

-- NBCNews: Two parallel administrations: The President's word versus everyone else: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/two-parallel-administrations-president-s-word-versus-everyone-else-n892696

-- The Atlantic: The White House Can't Contain the Russia Story: https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/565586/

-- aol: Russian media crows over Trump-Putin meeting: https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/07/19/russian-media-crows-over-trump-putin-love/23485685/?a_dgi=aolshare_facebook

-- CNN: CBS Poll: Majority disapproves with Trump's handling of Putin: https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/19/politics/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-summit-poll/index.html

-- The New York Times: Trump to Invite Putin to Washington as Top Advisers Seek Details of Their Summit Talks: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/us/politics/trump-putin-browder-mcfaul.html

Photo: nytimes.com.

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