Old Rocks
Diamond Member
A senior member of President Donald Trump's transition team said in email to a colleague on December 29, 2016, shortly after the Obama administration had imposed new sanctions on Russia, that the transition team should try to reassure the country that had just "thrown" the election to Trump.
The transition official, KT McFarland, told the unnamed colleague in the email obtained by the New York Times that the sanctions were aimed at delegitimizing Trump's election victory.
“If there is a tit-for-tat escalation Trump will have difficulty improving relations with Russia, which has just thrown U.S.A. election to him,” she wrote.
McFarland previously served as deputy national security adviser before she was asked to resign by H.R. McMaster, who became national security adviser after Flynn's abrupt departure.
It is unclear whether McFarland actually believed that Russia had "thrown" the election to Trump, or whether she was being sarcastic. A White House lawyer told the Times that she was mocking Democrats' accusation — bolstered at that point by a CIA assessment — that Russia had interfered in the election to help Trump win.
But the email sheds new light on McFarland's role in coordinating the transition team's attempts to convince Russia not to retaliate.
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn took the lead on those efforts and called Sergei Kislyak, then Russia's ambassador to the US, on December 29 to request that Russia refrain from escalating the situation further. They spoke again on December 31, when Kislyak called Flynn to tell him that Russia would accomodate his request.
Top Trump transition official in private email: Russia 'has just thrown' the election to Trump
Very interesting in light of testimony since that e-mail.
The transition official, KT McFarland, told the unnamed colleague in the email obtained by the New York Times that the sanctions were aimed at delegitimizing Trump's election victory.
“If there is a tit-for-tat escalation Trump will have difficulty improving relations with Russia, which has just thrown U.S.A. election to him,” she wrote.
McFarland previously served as deputy national security adviser before she was asked to resign by H.R. McMaster, who became national security adviser after Flynn's abrupt departure.
It is unclear whether McFarland actually believed that Russia had "thrown" the election to Trump, or whether she was being sarcastic. A White House lawyer told the Times that she was mocking Democrats' accusation — bolstered at that point by a CIA assessment — that Russia had interfered in the election to help Trump win.
But the email sheds new light on McFarland's role in coordinating the transition team's attempts to convince Russia not to retaliate.
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn took the lead on those efforts and called Sergei Kislyak, then Russia's ambassador to the US, on December 29 to request that Russia refrain from escalating the situation further. They spoke again on December 31, when Kislyak called Flynn to tell him that Russia would accomodate his request.
Top Trump transition official in private email: Russia 'has just thrown' the election to Trump
Very interesting in light of testimony since that e-mail.
