There You Go...Starting Another Rumor

In an exclusive interview with NBC, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that it was possible that the two leaders “met even much more than just three times,” but stressed that such meetings wouldn’t have been significant – and certainly weren’t secretive.

He joked that the two could have gone “to the toilet together."

  RT

There'll be photoshop memes aplenty from that.

“When you are brought by your parents to a kindergarten, do you mix with the people who are waiting in the same room to start going to a classroom?” he asked.

“I remember when I was in that position, I did spend five or ten minutes in the kindergarten before they brought us to the classroom.”

Wait. What? Is he hinting at something here? Why is he talking about kindergarten? Jus who is he calling a baby?

“After the dinner was over… I was not there… President Trump apparently went to pick up his wife and spent some minutes with President Putin… so what?” he said, echoing the White House’s account of the encounter.

Yeah, Lav, you weren't there.

....but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The Second Meeting

Experts in United States-Russia relations said such an encounter — even on an informal basis at a social event — was a concern because of its length, which suggested a substantive exchange, and because there was no note taker or national security or foreign policy aide present.

“We’re all going to be wondering what was said, and that’s where it’s unfortunate that there was no U.S. interpreter, because there is no independent American account of what happened,” said Steven Pifer, a former ambassador to Ukraine who also specializes in Russia and nuclear arms control.

“If I was in the Kremlin, my recommendation to Putin would be, ‘See if you can get this guy alone,’ and that’s what it sounds like he was able to do,” added Mr. Pifer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

[...]

“We have the worst relationship as a country right now with Russia that we have in decades, and yet we have these two leaders that, for reasons that do not make sense and have not been explained to anyone’s satisfaction, are hellbent on adoring each other,” Mr. Bremmer said. “You can take everything that’s been given to us, and it doesn’t add up.”

  NYT

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

There Always Is

And may I just add --- yes, you already know --- Why won't Trump share his tax returns? Why is the Trump cabal doing so much lying about Junior's infamous meeting?  Why didn't Trump reveal his second encounter with Putin?  There's something. There always is.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Lewandowski Is in Love with Melania

(Click here for Fox & Friends audio/video)

This was my first - well, my second - thought, too. But, Corey, if that's true, why isn't that what the president tweeted?

He didn't. But now perhaps he will, and I'm sure he thanks you for the help here. Even though he did fire you from the campaign.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

I Knew He Wasn't Through

via GIPHY

And...There It Is

The Second Meeting

I have to say that it could very well be a very innocent thing. Hear me out. Putin was seated beside Ivanka at dinner. Trump comes over after the dinner is over and joins them. Things are getting a little crazy. The optics are bad either way.  He's spending cozy time with Putin when he's under a microscope for possible collusion to fix the election.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

No fucking kidding.

UPDATE:  This WaPo story indicates no one else was there.  Maybe I have the wrong dinner or maybe Melania had already gone elsewhwere.

The Second Meeting

I don't know where Zeke Miller got this. You'd think a reporter would cite his source.

Excerpt:

To be continued I'm sure.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

I have to say that it could very well be a very innocent thing. Hear me out. Putin was seated beside Ivanka at dinner. Trump comes over after the dinner is over and joins them. Things are getting a little crazy. The optics are bad either way.  He's spending cozy time with Putin when he's under a microscope for possible collusion to fix the election.

The Second Meeting

That Trump was not joined in the conversation by his own translator is a breach of national security protocol, Bremmer noted, though one that the president likely would not know about.

  The Hill

And why not? Did he not have national security people around him while he was at the G20? Or, perhaps he no longer has any. That's one way of getting rid of problematic regulations.

Trump spoke with the Russian leader for roughly an hour, joined only by Putin's translator. The meeting had previously gone without mention by the White House.

Awaiting the tweet.

UPDATE:  The Second Meeting


...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Oh, Lord, It Just Keeps Growing

Political scientist Ian Bremmer on Tuesday revealed that Donald Trump had a second, unreported meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin during the annual G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

[...]

Bremmer explained that in addition to his widely-reported 2-hour long meeting with Putin, Trump also had an hour-long meeting that evening with the Russian president “that no one’s really heard of.”

[...]

Bremmer said Trump’s desire to pal around with Putin leaves himself and other political scientist “flummoxed.”

The one policy that Trump has been remarkably consist on is Russia,” Bremmer added.

  Raw Story

There'll be tweets.

Is Trump THAT stupid? Did he think no one would find out? Did he not care?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Bremmer interview.

 UPDATE:  The Second Meeting

FURTHER UPDATE 8pm:  Aaaaaand...There they are