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Groton Daily Independent
Saturday, July 29, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 029 ~ 33 of 67
Gray’s family agreed in September 2015 to a $6.4 million settlement with Baltimore. ___
Superville reported from Washington.
___
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Trump ready to sign Russia sanctions bill, Moscow retaliates By RICHARD LARDNER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will sign a package of stiff nancial sanctions against Rus- sia that passed Congress with over- whelming support, the White House said Friday. Moscow has already responded, ordering a reduction in the number of U.S. diplomats in Rus- sia and closing the U.S. Embassy’s recreation retreat.
Trump’s willingness to support the measure is a remarkable acknowl- edgement that he has yet to sell his party on his hopes for forging a warmer relationship with Moscow. His vow to extend a hand of coop- eration to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been met with resistance as skeptical lawmakers look to limit the president’s leeway to go easy on Moscowoveritsmeddlinginthe2016 presidential election.
The Senate passed the bill, 98-2, twodaysaftertheHousepushedthe measure through by an overwhelming margin,419-3.Bothwereveto-proof numbers.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 27, 2017. The Senate voteddecisivelytoapproveanewpackageofstiff nancial sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea, sending the popular bill to President Donald Trump for his signa- tureafterweeksofintensenegotiations.Thelegislation is aimed at punishing Moscow for meddling in the 2016 presidentialelectionanditsmilitaryaggressioninUkraine and Syria, where the Kremlin has backed President Bashar Assad. McCain said the bill’s passage was long overdue, ajabatTrumpandtheGOP-controlledCongress.McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has called Putin a murderer and a thug.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
The White House initially wavered
onwhetherthepresidentwouldsign
the measure into law. But in a state-
ment late Friday, press secretary
Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump
had “reviewed the nal version and, based on its responsiveness to his negotiations, approves the bill and intends to sign it.”
Never in doubt was a cornerstone of the legislation that bars Trump from easing or waiving the additional penalties on Russia unless Congress agrees. The provisions were included to assuage concerns among lawmakers that the president’s push for better relations with Moscow might lead him to relax the penalties without rst securing concessions from the Kremlin.
The legislation is aimed at punishing Moscow for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and for its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria, where the Kremlin has backed President Bashar Assad. It also imposes nancial sanctions against Iran and North Korea.