Trump, with Putin, Attacks 2016 Intelligence

C M Y K Yxxx,2018-07-17,A,001,Bs-4C,E2

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‘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.’

PRESIDENT TRUMP, only moments after the Russian president conceded that he had favored Mr. Trump in the election. TRUMP, WITH PUTIN, ATTACKS 2016 INTELLIGENCE

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS HELSINKI, Finland — President Trump stood next to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Monday and pub- licly challenged the conclusion of his own intelligence agencies that Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election, wrapping up what he called a “deeply productive” summit meeting with an extraordinary show of trust for a leader accused of attacking American democracy. In a remarkable news conference, Mr. Trump did not name a single action for which Mr. Putin should be held account- able. Instead, he saved his sharpest criticism for the United States and the special counsel investigation into the election interference, calling it a “ridiculous” probe and a “witch hunt” that has kept the two countries apart. Mr. Trump even questioned the deter- minations by his intelligence officials that Russia had meddled in the election. “They said they think it’s Russia,” Mr. Trump said. “I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia,” the president continued, only moments after Mr. Putin conceded that he had wanted Mr. Trump to win the election because of his prom- ises of warmer relations with Moscow. “I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be” Russia that was respon- sible for the election hacking, Mr. Trump added. “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.” The 45-minute news conference of- fered the spectacle of the two presidents both pushing back on the notion of DOUG MILLS/THE NEW YORK TIMES Moscow’s election interference, with Mr. President Trump, with Vladimir V. Putin on Monday, saved his sharpest criticism for the United States and the special counsel inquiry into the 2016 election. Putin demanding evidence of something he said had never been proved, and Mr. Trump appearing to agree. When asked directly whether he be- Russian Made Secret Push Measured Condemnation Disdain for U.S. Institutions lieved Mr. Putin or his own intelligence agencies, Mr. Trump said there were To Sway Policy, Charges Say But No G.O.P. Plan to Act And Praise for an Adversary “two thoughts” on the matter: one from American officials like Dan Coats, his director of national intelligence, asserting This article is by Matt Apuzzo, Katie Benner and Sharon This article is by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Nicholas Fandos By MARK LANDLER Russia’s involvement; and one from Mr. LaFraniere. and Thomas Kaplan. Putin dismissing it. “I have confidence in WASHINGTON — President Trump, who glee- WASHINGTON — A Russian woman who tried to WASHINGTON — For nearly two years, Republi- both parties,” he said. fully defies the norms of presidential behavior, went He then changed the subject, demand- broker a secret meeting between Donald J. Trump and cans have watched uncomfortably, and often in silence, somewhere in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday where the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, during the as President Trump has swatted away accusations that ing to know why the F.B.I. never exam- none of his predecessors have ever gone: He ac- ined the hacked computer servers of the 2016 presidential campaign was charged Monday and Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential race, at- cepted the explanation of a hostile foreign leader accused of working with Americans to carry out a se- tacked his own intelligence agencies and flattered Democratic National Committee, and over the findings of his own intelligence asking about the fate of emails missing cret Russian effort to influence American politics. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. agencies. At the behest of a senior Russian government offi- On Monday, even for members of his own party, Mr. NEWS from the server of Hillary Clinton, his Mr. Trump’s declaration that he saw cial, the woman, Mariia Butina, made connections Trump apparently went too far. ANALYSIS campaign rival. “Where are Hillary Clin- no reason not to believe President through the National Rifle Association, religious orga- The president’s extraordinary news conference ton’s emails?” he said. Vladimir V. Putin when he said the nizations and the National Prayer Breakfast to try to with Mr. Putin in Helsinki, Finland, stunned Republi- His performance drew fierce protests Russians did not try to fix the 2016 election was steer the Republican Party toward more pro-Russia cans across the ideological spectrum and the party’s from Democrats and some Republicans, policies, court records show. Privately comparing her- political apparatus, leaving them struggling to respond extraordinary enough. But it was only one of several prompting John O. Brennan, a C.I.A. di- self to a Soviet Cold War propagandist, she worked to after the president undermined his national intelli- statements the likes of which no other president has rector under President Barack Obama, infiltrate American organizations and establish “back gence director, blamed both the United States and Rus- uttered while on foreign soil. to suggest that the remarks warranted channel” lines of communication with American poli- sia for poor relations between the two countries and He condemned the Justice Department’s investi- Mr. Trump’s impeachment. ticians. seemingly agreed to Mr. Putin’s suggestion that Robert gation of his campaign’s ties to Russia as a “disaster Continued on Page A6 “These lines could be used by the Russian Federa- S. Mueller III, the special counsel, cooperate with Rus- for our country.” He suggested that the F.B.I. deliber- tion to penetrate the U.S. national decision-making ap- sia. ately mishandled its investigation of Russia’s hacking paratus to advance the agenda of the Russian Federa- Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, de- of the Democratic National Committee. And he la- A WIN Vladimir Putin achieved his goal: tion,” an F.B.I. agent wrote in court documents. clared, “No prior president has ever abased himself beled an F.B.I. agent who testified about that investi- affirmation of Russia’s status as a global The charges were filed under seal on Saturday, the more abjectly before a tyrant.” Newt Gingrich, the for- gation before Congress as a “disgrace to our country.” power. News Analysis. PAGE A7 day after 12 Russian intelligence officers were indicted mer House speaker and Trump adviser, declared the In the fiery, disruptive, rules-breaking arc of Mr. on a charge of hacking Democratic computers during news conference “the most serious mistake of his pres- Trump’s statecraft, his assertions during a news FACT CHECK Numerous claims from the 2016 campaign. Ms. Butina, 29, was arrested Sun- idency.” Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential conference with Mr. Putin marked a new milestone, President Trump’s news conference with Continued on Page A9 Continued on Page A9 Continued on Page A6 Russia’s leader are disputable. PAGE A8

Your Baby Is Coming. Help Is 100 Miles Away.

that fewer than half of the coun- By JACK HEALY try’s rural counties still have a Obstetric Care Is Often hospital that offers obstetric care, KENNETT, Mo. — A few hours Dangerously Distant an absence that adds to the obsta- after the only hospital in town cles rural women face in getting shut its doors forever, Kela Aber- in Rural America health care. Specialists are in- nathy bolted awake at 4:30 a.m., creasingly clustered in bigger cit- screaming in pain. ies. Clinics that provide abortions, Oh God, she remembered think- long-term birth control and other ing, it’s the twins. be around the corner. Now, her reproductive services have been They were not due for another new doctor and hospital were forced to close in many smaller two months. But the contractions nearly 100 miles away. towns. seizing Ms. Abernathy’s lower Medical help is growing dan- “It’s scary,” said Katie Penn, back early that June morning told gerously distant for women in ru- who said she was rejected by eight her that her son and daughter ral America. At least 85 rural hos- doctors before finding an obstetri- were coming. Now. pitals — about 5 percent of the cian in Jonesboro, Ark., about an Ms. Abernathy, 21, staggered country’s total — have closed hour from Kennett. “You never out of bed and yelled for her since 2010, and obstetric care has know what can happen.” mother, Lynn, who had been lying faced even starker cutbacks as ru- When obstetric services leave awake on the living-room couch. ral hospitals calculate the hard They grabbed a few bags, scooped math of survival, weighing the town, a cascade of risks follows, up Ms. Abernathy’s 2-year-old son cost of providing 24/7 delivery according to experts at the Uni- and were soon hurtling across this services against dwindling birth- versity of Minnesota Rural Health poor patch of southeast Missouri rates, doctor and nursing short- Research Center who have stud- ANDREA MORALES FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES in their Pontiac Bonneville, racing ages and falling revenues. ied the consequences. Women go Kela Abernathy holding her son Kaleb, who was born two months early at 3 pounds 6 ounces. for help. The old hospital used to Today, researchers estimate Continued on Page A14

NATIONAL A11-16 INTERNATIONAL A4-10 SCIENCE TIMES D1-6 BUSINESS DAY B1-4 ARTS C1-8 Reluctant Bid to Host G.O.P. Extremists Running for Office Hints of an Ancient Migration How We Got to 10,000 Tariffs Art With a Warning Label The Trump factor is fueling debates in Pakistani courts have cleared a number Stone tools found in China show that The blow-by-blow account of how Presi- A Texas museum realized it overlooked Charlotte, N.C., over seeking the Repub- of candidates who have been included ancestors of humans left Africa earlier dent Trump’s tariffs ballooned from just something while preparing for a display lican National Convention. PAGE A12 on terrorism watch lists to run in na- than previously thought. PAGE D1 solar panels and washing machines to a of a panorama, below, of an imagined tional elections this month. PAGE A4 $362 billion trade war. PAGE B1 modern-day Klan gathering. PAGE C1

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