2016 ELECTION/GOP/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Top congressional Republicans sharply criticized President Donald Trump Monday [7-16-18] after he cast doubt on Russian interference in the 2016 election during a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin…Standing next to Mr. Putin, Mr. Trump said he trusted the Russian president’s denial that Moscow had interfered in the 2016 presidential campaign and didn’t take an opportunity to warn Mr. Putin against future meddling…Mr. Trump’s comments came just days after special counsel Robert Mueller charged a dozen Russian intelligence officers with hacking the computers of Democratic organizations during the 2016 campaign and releasing emails strategically during the campaign to undercut Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid. GOP Sen. John McCain, who is battling brain cancer at home in Arizona, delivered one of the most blistering attacks on Mr. Trump Monday…Because Mr. Trump is highly popular with the most faithful Republican voters, GOP lawmakers have largely refrained from criticizing him, even while he has deviated from party orthodoxy by escalating a trade fight by levying tariffs and criticizing such traditional U.S. allies as the European Union and Britain.”
–Kristina Peterson, “Republicans Reproach Trump on Russian Meddling,” The Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2018 4:59 pm