NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump rejected, for now at least, a fresh round of sanctions set to be imposed against Russia on Monday [4-16-18], a course change that underscored the schism between the president and his national security team. The president’s ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, had announced on Sunday [4-15-18] that the administration would place sanctions on Russian companies found to be assisting Syria’s chemical weapons program. The sanctions were listed on a menu of further government options after an American-led airstrike on Syria, retaliating against a suspected gas attack that killed dozens a week earlier. But the White House contradicted her on Monday, saying that Mr. Trump had not approved additional measures…Another White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations, said Mr. Trump had decided not to go forward with the sanctions. Mr. Trump concluded that they were unnecessary because Moscow’s response to the airstrike was mainly bluster, the official said.”
–Peter Baker, “Trump Scraps New Sanctions Against Russia, Overruling Advisers,” The New York Times online, April 16, 2018