A former senior campaign and transition aide to President Donald Trump recently inked a deal to help a Russian oligarch's conglomerate shed sanctions the Trump administration slapped on them last month.
The Russian oligarch and Russian lawyer who were key players in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting reached out to Trump's team after Donald Trump was elected President to try to lobby on the Russian sanctions they sought to overturn, according to Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee.
A Russian oligarch is loosening his control of two companies that have been slammed by US sanctions.
The day before US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley went on national television saying that new sanctions would be announced against Russia, the White House sent out a list of talking points to surrogates advocating such a move. But the day after she announced sanctions would be coming, the White House contradicted itself, abruptly saying it would not be following through with the sanctions.
New US sanctions have already proved very costly for one Russian oligarch.
Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are praising the Trump administration's new Russian sanctions Friday, saying it was much needed after Russia meddled in the 2016 election, though some prominent members of Congress are calling for more to be done.
