Trump Considers Lifting Sanctions On Russia Amid Investigation: Report

The Trump Administration might lift sanctions on the Russian government as they are being investigated by the House, Senate, FBI, and special counsel Robert Mueller. They are looking into collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.

President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats in compounds in New York and Maryland as punishment for their role in hacking the DNC during the election cycle Dec. 29, 2016. The diplomats were given 24 hours to vacate the compounds.

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According to the report by the Washington Post, the Trump Administration justified the lifting of the sanctions last month saying that it was in exchange for Moscow letting the U.S. continue the construction of a U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg, which was halted in the fallout of Russia’s aggressive move to annex Crimea in Ukraine.

That reasoning, however, was reversed two days later by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when he spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. They said the United States had dropped any link between the compounds and the consulate.

The renewed interest in relaxing the diplomatic tension between Russia and the U.S. came as members of the Trump Administration are under scrutiny for their alleged ties with Russian officials during the campaign and transition.

In February, the New York Times reported that the disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn met with the Russian officials during the transition and specifically discussed lifting the sanctions imposed by the Obama Administration in undisclosed meetings.

Additionally, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has come under increased scrutiny for back channel communication he’s set up between the Kremlin and the White House. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, and others have also been linked to undisclosed meetings with the Russian officials.

CNN reported that Sessions was found to have met with Kisleyak in another, third undisclosed meeting, which went unreported in his hearing in front of the congressional probe, and also undisclosed in the subsequent revised statement by the Attorney General.

The case trying to find links between Russia and Trump campaign has been escalating since the appointment of special counsel Mueller. Flynn and Cohen have both been subpoenaed by the House Intel Committee for information concerning their relationship to Russia.

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The Trump Administration has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or collusion between their campaign or transition team, with the President calling the Russian probe a “witch hunt” and defended all of those involved, particularly Flynn who was fired early in the administration after he was caught lying to Vice President Mike Pence about the content and nature of his meetings with the Russian Ambassadors.

Lifting the sanctions and penalties with Russia at such a volatile time in Russian-U.S. relations and is sure to throw more suspicion on the relationship between the Putin and Trump administrations. Critics of the president have already pointed to the lifting of sanctions as a reward to the typically antagonistic country.