This is not a joke. The republican President Donald Trump has been downplaying for years, the role that Russia played in interfering with the 2016 US elections’ infrastructure. It stands to reason that the American public would be receptive to the president warning the Russia’s President Vladimir Putin not to make the mistake to repeat Russia’s 2016 attacks on US elections in 2020, but instead at the June 2019 G20 conference in Osaka, Japan, when Presidents Trump and Putin had a side meeting, President Trump turned this issue into a laughing matter.

Donald Tusk‏Verified account@eucopresident tweeted the following on 6/27/2019:

Follow @eucopresident

“I strongly disagree with President Putin that liberalism is obsolete. What I find really obsolete are authoritarianism, personality cults, the rule of oligarchs. My press statement at #G20OsakaSummit: https://europa.eu/!Gp89kF

Adam Schiff‏Verified account @RepAdamSchiff tweeted the following on 6/27/2019 but this “Safe Act” will be DOA in the Senate because its GOP majority leader has been blocking all bipartisan security elections measures which is just another reason why I don’t get why the US House hasn’t commenced an impeachment inquiry against President Trump:

Following @RepAdamSchiff

BREAKING: The House just voted to safeguard our elections. The SAFE Act will: Replace outdated & vulnerable voting equipment Mandate paper ballot voting & post-election audits Create strict cybersecurity requirements for voting systems 2020 is coming. Let’s be prepared.

2:19 PM – 27 Jun 2019

See Salon article: Despite Mueller’s warning, McConnell blocks bipartisan election security bills – McConnell also blocked the bill to reopen most of government back in January. McConnell and GOP senators are complicit in dismantling democracy.

See MSNBC report: msnbc.com/  McConnell blocks bills to combat election interference  

Link to entire article: G20 summit 2019: Trump meets leaders in Osaka

See: G20: all eyes on Trump and Iran, but Putin’s date with Xi and Modi is …
South China Morning Post–Jun 27, 2019

Rex Tillerson tells all…Read: Tillerson’s testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee

On June 27, 2019, John Hudson and Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post penned the following report, “Rex Tillerson airs concern about Jared Kushner’s secret dealings with foreign leaders”

Excerpts:

“In newly disclosed testimony, former secretary of state Rex Tillerson said President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, operated independently with powerful leaders around the world without coordination with the State Department, leaving Tillerson out of the loop and in the dark on emerging U.S. policies and simmering geopolitical crises.”

“In a transcript of his testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Tillerson also described the challenge of briefing a president who does not read briefing papers and often got distracted by peripheral topics, noting he had to keep his message short and focus on a single topic.”

“I learned to be much more concise with what I wanted to bring in front of him,” Tillerson told the House panel during a seven-hour session in May.”

“He stood by his previous characterization that Trump does not dive deep into details and said he learned not to give the president articles or long memos.”

“On several occasions, Tillerson said he was blindsided by Kushner’s discussions with world leaders.”

“In one instance, Tillerson said he learned that Kushner was meeting with Mexico’s foreign secretary, Luis Videgaray, because he happened to be in the same Washington restaurant while the 2 men hashed out a “fairly comprehensive plan of action” that Tillerson didn’t know about.”

“The owner of the restaurant . . . came around and said, “Oh, Mr. Secretary, you might be interested to know the foreign secretary of Mexico is seated at a table near the back in case you want to go by and say hello to him,” Tillerson said. “And so I did.”

“Tillerson said he saw the “color go out of the face” of the foreign secretary as he walked into the room. “I said: Welcome to Washington. . . . Give me a call next time you’re coming to town.”

“In another instance, Tillerson explained in detail being stunned by the 2017 Persian Gulf crisis in which key Arab allies severed ties with Qatar, another key U.S. ally. He said he was in Australia at the time with then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and both were caught off guard.”

“I was surprised,” Tillerson said.”

“He also said he wasn’t aware of meetings that had been occurring between Arab leaders and Kushner, including a private huddle May 20, 2017, between Kushner, Trump’s former adviser Stephen K. Bannon and the rulers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. During the meeting, Arab leaders discussed their intention to impose a blockade on Qatar, though the White House later denied prior knowledge of the June 5 closure.”

“What’s your reaction to a meeting of that sort having taken place without your knowledge?” Tillerson was asked by committee staff.”

“It makes me angry,” Tillerson said.”

“White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said that such a gathering to “discuss the blockade never happened, and neither Jared, nor anyone in the White House, was involved in the blockade.” (And I believe in the tooth fairy.)

“Tillerson said he asked Kushner to stop making trips overseas without consulting with the embassy or the State Department.”

“On occasion the president’s senior adviser would make trips abroad and . . . was in charge of his own agenda,” he said.”

“When he raised the issue, Kushner said he “would try to do better,” Tillerson recalled. But “not much changed,” the former secretary of state said, making it difficult because everyone was not working from the “same playbook.”

Link to report:

Rex Tillerson airs concern about Jared Kushner’s secret dealings 

See:  justsecurity.org/ Why Americans Should Care About Mueller’s Counterintelligence Probe—Aside from any Criminal Implications /…