The U.S. and Russia: What’s Going On?
Trump’s national security adviser resigned this month due to revelations that he was in fact in contact with Russian officials prior to the election.
February 21, 2017
As many know, Donald Trump’s association with Russia has been a controversial subject for months now. This problematic relationship was brought to light in December, when the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia for intervening and even hacking into the U.S. Presidential Election. Both Trump and the Russian Federation denied these claims; however, recent events reveal that this story goes far deeper and has lasted much longer than originally thought.
Trump and Putin’s relationship already caused many to worry. Trump expressed approval of Vladimir Putin’s ruling, which is frightening considering Vladimir Putin has been considered to be corrupt president due to his actions, such as those of imposing anti-gay legislature and imprisoning peaceful protesters. A tweet from Donald Trump’s Twitter reads, “Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!” Trump posted this on December 30, 2016, just days before Trump’s inauguration.
Recently discovered recordings of Michael Flynn, Trump’s National Security Adviser, revealed to the public that Trump and his administration’s connection to Russia is more than just praise over Twitter. Michael Flynn continuously denied discussing anything election-related with Russia, but the recorded phone conversations depict a highly unsettling history of communication between Flynn and Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak. This contact existed leading up to the election and during Trump’s transition into the White House. In these recordings, Flynn tells Kislyak that Trump will revisit sanctions. Flynn supposedly lied to Vice President Mike Pence and others about this contact and Trump’s spokespeople repeated those lies publicly.
On just February 8th, 2017, Flynn once again denied his contact with Russia in an interview with The Washington Post. The most disturbing part of the ordeal is that this contact continued even after the United States government concluded that Russia did covert opertations to influence the U.S. election and put Trump into office.
“I’ve tried to give this new government a chance, but I’m continuously let down,” commented a distressed Clara Kingsbury. “I just hope the future is brighter than it seems right now.”
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During the daytime on February 13th, 2017, Kellyanne Conway, another controversial figure in the U.S. government, stated that Flynn still “enjoys the full confidence of the president.” Scarily enough, later that same day, Michael Flynn resigned as National Security Adviser, and his letter of resignation included an admission to his communication with Russia.
Flynn’s true intentions and the full extent of his involvement with Russia remains unclear for the time being. However, the FBI will most likely review the case, and Flynn could be subject to some serious legal penalties depending on what the calls truly entailed. If Flynn provided Russia with some of the secretive information that many Americans speculate that he did, it is plausble that he violated the 1799 Logan Act. This act is a U.S. federal law that calls for the fining and/or imprisonment of unauthorized U.S. citizens who communicate and negotiate with foreign governments that are having disputes with the U.S.
“The whole idea that such an important figure in our government was lying to us all is terrifying,” Leah Humphrey, a student here at HHS, expressed her worry on the subject. “I think that [Flynn] most definitely should face charges. If the calls weren’t bad like he insists, he should have had no problem telling the truth to the government and the people. But he didn’t, and that scares me.”
Albeit, Flynn’s unnerving contact with Russia is not the only recent controversial topic between the U.S. and Russia. On the morning of February 14th, 2017, a Russian spy ship was seen patrolling off the edge of the East Coast of the United States. The U.S. nautical territory line is 12 miles out. The Russian ship was 70 miles off the coast of Delaware, so it was positioned in international water. However, it is unclear as to where the ship was headed and why it was there.
One U.S. official spoke to Fox News about the spy ship. The official explained, “It’s not a huge concern, but we are keeping our eyes on it.” Despite this statement, many Americans remain in an unsettled state because of all that is happening between the U.S. and Russia. This is especially because U.S. officials also confirmed on that same day–February 14th, 2017–that Russia deployed ground-launched cruise missiles to two locations inside the country in December of 2016.
Futher, it was revealed that four Russian jets buzzed the USS Porter in the Black Sea on February 10th, 2017. First, a Russian IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft approached the USS Porter, followed by two Su-24 attack jets, which were subsequently followed by a single Su-24. According to the U.S. official, the USS Porter repeatedly called to the Russian jets via radio, but the Russian jets ignored the calls due to jets’ transponders not being turned on.
Oddly enough, it appears that each time more information about the relations between the current United States government and the Russian Federation is revealed, more and more questions are raised. As of now, this is the extent of the American people’s knowledge on the topic. Considering the amount of information the people did not know in the past, one can only wonder what else is currently unknown. Hopefully the world finds answers soon.
