2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It was possible that Vladimir Putin would be the man in a tough spot after his summit meeting Monday [7-16-18] with President Donald Trump. Instead, most of the squirming is being done not by the Russian leader, but by Republicans in Congress, by the American intelligence community and by overseas allies. All of them were left in limbo by Mr. Trump’s decision not to challenge Mr. Putin publicly about any of the toughest issues between Washington and Moscow: Russia’s annexation of Crimea, its interference in eastern Ukraine, the poisoning of Russian exiles in London or Russian meddling in the 2016 election…But for Mr. Trump’s potential friends, the equation was different. Most Republicans want a tougher line on Russia than the president offered. The intelligence community has said repeatedly—including in a statement issued just hours after the close of the summit—that it believes Russia meddled in the 2016 election, while the nation’s top intelligence official, Trump appointee Dan Coats, said just last week the Russians are preparing to do so again.”
-Gerald F. Seib, “Trump Leaves GOP, Intelligence Community and Allies in the Hot Seat,” The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2018 4:18 pm