1/15/2019

DEMS/GOP/LEGISLATION/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “At least one Republican senator will join with Democrats on a bill that would reverse the Trump administration’s plan to ease sanctions on three companies with ties to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close Kremlin ally…A key vote on the measure, which Minority Leader Chuck Schumer can force under the 2017 Russia sanctions law, is expected later in the day and will give Democrats another chance to blast Republicans over President Donald Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Only four Republicans need to break with their party to advance the measure, if all Democrats vote to do the same. Growing potential for Republican defections comes amid a new wave of questions about Trump’s relationship with Putin in the wake of a bombshell New York Times report that the FBI in 2017 decided to investigate why Trump took actions that seemed to benefit Russia.”

Donna Borak, Ted Barrett and Jeremy Herb, “Democrats ratchet up pressure on Republicans over Trump’s Russia policy,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, January 15, 2019 6:00 am