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Stefanik criticizes Trump; Cobb criticizes Stefanik

The candidates for New York’s 21st Congressional District have all taken to Twitter with criticism of President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik was harder on Trump directly — continuing her assertion that Russia is not a U.S. friend — while Democratic candidate Tedra Cobb took the chance to say when it comes to Trump and the Mueller investigation, Stefanik will say one thing and do another. Green Party candidate Lynn Kahn warned that the president’s decisions were putting the American people in “trouble.”

After meeting alone with the Russian leader in Helsinki, Trump gave a 45-minute joint press conference next to Putin, praising him, casting doubt on U.S. intelligence agencies and continuing to criticize a federal investigation into alleged collusion between the two leaders in the 2016 election.

Regarding the alleged hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s email server by 12 Russian intelligence officers, a separate but neighboring investigation to the Mueller-led campaign collusion investigation, Trump said, “I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”

In their private conversation, Putin — a former KGB intelligence officer — told Trump it was not the Russian government behind the hack, which Trump said he believes more than the U.S. Department of Justice, which indicted the Russians last week.

“I hold both countries responsible,” Trump said. “I think that the United States has been foolish. I think that we’ve all been foolish. We should have had this dialogue a long time ago, a long time, frankly, before I got to office.”

On Monday Trump was quoted saying, “I don’t see any reason why it would be [Russia interfering in the election].” On Tuesday he admitted he misspoke and had meant to say the double-negative, “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be.

“I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place,” Trump said, adding the caveat. “It could be other people also. A lot of people out there.”

“As I have said many times before, but worth repeating today. I believe Russia is an adversary and we must continue to work with our allies to counter Russia’s influence around the world. I disagree with the President’s statement today,” Stefanik wrote in a tweet. “Russia has a track record of meddling in elections — not only ours in 2016, but around the world. I support the Mueller investigation in getting to the apolitical truth.”

Cobb responded on Twitter as well, referencing the decision by the congresswoman, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, to cease its 426 day-investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election back in March.

“Rep. Elise Stefanik continues to choose politics over patriotism and truth when it comes to Russian meddling in our elections,” Cobb wrote in a tweet. “The president’s bizarre acquiescence to Russian president Putin yesterday shows what a stunning mistake it was for Rep. Stefanik to vote to prematurely shut down the congressional investigation. Carefully-parsed tweets don’t change the fact that Rep. Stefanik and Congress abdicated its vital role in representing and defending the American people and our rights.”

The House Intelligence Committee’s draft report did not agree with the intelligence community that Putin favored Trump in the election, but Stefanik’s communications director Tom Flanagin wrote in an email, “It’s fair to say there is daylight between her and some other Members of the Committee.”

Stefanik also broke from fellow Republicans in supporting the Mueller investigation. She said she voted to end the committee investigation for its findings to be released in time for the 2018 midterm elections.

Meanwhile, Kahn wrote in a tweet, “I worked in aviation for 22 years including on 9/11. POTUS taking word of Russian dictator over our intelligence and law enforcement experts is disgraceful, dangerous. We are all in trouble.”

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