Putin Offers Transcripts of Trump-Lavrov Meeting

May 17, 2017

Comments

The surreality of this week’s news continues to spiral, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to provided transcripts of the Oval Office meeting President Trump had with Russians Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak.

WaPo reports: Putin offers to provide Congress with details of Trump disclosures to Russian envoys :

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he would be willing to provide the U.S. Congress a record of President Trump’s meeting with top Russian envoys, possibly offering new details on the disclosures of reportedly highly classified intelligence information.

[…]

“If the administration of the United States deems this possible, we will be ready to provide a transcript of the Lavrov-Trump meeting to the U.S. Senate and Congress,” Putin told reporters during a news conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. Putin added, “it will happen if the U.S. administration wishes so.”

And, in the understatement of the day:

“Probably the last person the person [Trump] needs to vouch for him right now is Vladimir Putin,” [U.S. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.)] said about Russia’s offer on the CBS show “This Morning.”

20 responses to “Putin Offers Transcripts of Trump-Lavrov Meeting”

Scott

May 17, 2017 at 9:03 am

Trump is now a total laughing stock. Russians are rolling around the floor in hysterics.

Was tragedy, now a farce.
James Pearce

May 17, 2017 at 9:23 am

I’d rather hear the recording that was transcribed.
legion

May 17, 2017 at 9:34 am

Wouldn’t the easiest way of showing the transcripts be for Trump to release the tapes of the meeting we all figure he has?

AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Doug Mataconis

May 17, 2017 at 9:38 am

Wait just a second here.

If Putin is offering to release a “transcript” of Trump’s meeting with Lavrov and the Ambassador does that mean the Russians brought recording devices into Oval Office? Perhaps that’s what the Russian “reporters” who Trump allowed in the meeting with them (no American press, though) were there for.

Seriously, how could Putin offer a “transcript” if they didn’t?

And yes, this could just be Putin tweaking Trump for his own amusement and to continue to stoke the chaos in the U.S. that obviously benefits him, but let’s assume for the sake of argument that there really is a transcript. That would require an astounding breach of security.
CSK

May 17, 2017 at 9:44 am

@Doug Mataconis:

And would an astounding breach of security surprise you?

Do you suppose that the American press were absent from the meeting at the request of the Russians, or am I going overboard here?
Jen

May 17, 2017 at 9:53 am

Invite the man who is widely believed to be Moscow’s chief spy and recruiter in the US to a meeting and then be surprised if there’s a recording or transcript?

This has a “shocked, shocked there is gambling going on here” aura to it.
Doug Mataconis

May 17, 2017 at 9:59 am

@CSK:

Nothing is going to surprise me at this point.
CSK

May 17, 2017 at 10:16 am

@Doug Mataconis:

Somehow I figured as much.

By the way, Jim Acosta has stated that Trump, according to Comey, asked Comey if he could lock up reporters.
Hal_10000

May 17, 2017 at 10:27 am

@Doug Mataconis:

My guess would be that Putin’s transcripts are as real as Trump’s tapes. Putin isn’t particularly interested in Trump. Or Le Pen. Or anyone else for that matter. What he wants is chaos. What he is is a sower of discord. There were accusations that Russia was putting efforts into these “rogue” Twitter accounts and Calexit.

He is laughing his backside off right now.
LaMont

May 17, 2017 at 10:49 am

@Doug Mataconis:

I was watching CNN the other day when one of the prognosticators mentioned, from an anonymous source, that it was not smart to allow Russians reporters in with their cameras as they have been know to carry security breaching devices in them. This gives credence to that!
reid

May 17, 2017 at 11:00 am

We are a laughingstock.

It’s amazing that the right spent years accusing Obama of idiotic things like being a narcissist, in over his head, amateur, etc., and here they’ve elected and stand by someone who is all of those things to the n’th degree. Thank you, Republicans.
LaMont

May 17, 2017 at 11:04 am

@CSK:

“Jim Acosta has stated that Trump, according to Comey, asked Comey if he could lock up reporters.”

People have not yet caught on to how important this information is. Yes, we know Trump don’t like reporters reporting leaked information. However, the fact that Trump, perhaps on more than one occasion, wanted the FBI to go after the reporters shows that Trump really wants the FBI to be active in holding reporters accountable. That is an important thing to understand about Trump while his staff considers Comey’s replacement. Trump is a simple-minded individual. I would not put it past him to seek a director that will go after reporters on the premise that the leaks may cease to matter as reporters will inevitably be scared off.
KM

May 17, 2017 at 11:10 am

@Doug Mataconis :
Exactly. The only way a transcript could exist is if someone was recording, us or them. If us, then Trump handed over the transcript to Putin for some effin reason and surely could do the same for the American people. If them, Trump let a non-US sanctioned device from a foreign-state controlled source into the goddamn Oval Office which is just a mind-boggling stupid thing to do in any case. Add in he actively denied US reporters but allowed Russian state media and you have, *at best*, a recipe for disaster.

He better hope Vlad’s trolling him.
Mr Bluster

May 17, 2017 at 11:59 am

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Scott

May 17, 2017 at 1:07 pm

@LaMont:

I would not put it past him to seek a director that will go after reporters on the premise that the leaks may cease to matter as reporters will inevitably be scared off.

On the other hand, I would like to see the reaction when Trump finds out that the leakers are in his inner circle.
al-Alameda

May 17, 2017 at 2:54 pm

I wonder if the transcripts include conversations with the strippers and escorts?
Andre Kenji

May 17, 2017 at 3:16 pm

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“They Saved Nixon’s Brain”

May 17, 2017 at 5:10 pm

“…we will be ready to provide a transcript of the Lavrov-Trump meeting to the U.S. Senate and Congress,”

Looks like Vlad the Putter has signed up for the American Government course at Jenos Washington’s Internet University.
“They Saved Nixon’s Brain”

May 17, 2017 at 5:14 pm

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“They Saved Nixon’s Brain”

May 17, 2017 at 5:23 pm

This is not my fault I waited at least 5 min for my post to appear before I tried a repost.