Russian President Vladimir Putin caused a stir this week by attacking the impeachment process against President Donald Trump and confidently predicting that the Senate will acquit him. But he is not alone. On Saturday, The Daily Beast reported that the Russian state media networks are coming out in defense of Trump as well. This comes just as Trump is reportedly pushing back on a new package of Russian sanctions passed by Congress.
"Such support would have been implausible for any other U.S. leader, much less one who claims to be 'tough on Russia,'" wrote reporter Julia Davis. "But bluster aside, Trump has been reluctant to sign off on additional Russian sanctions. Pro-Kremlin experts, lawmakers and talking heads believe President Trump would do away with most of the sanctions in record time if not for the U.S. Congress."
"One of the Kremlin’s top propagandists, Vladimir Soloviev, heaped praise upon Trump and rattled off a list of bogus defenses in his coverage of the impeachment proceedings," wrote Davis. "During his show, The Evening with Vladimir Soloviev, the host favorably mentioned a 'documentary film' based on the Ukrainian exploits of the U.S. president’s private lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani ... Soloviev proceeded to accuse the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of 'conspiring' with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European leaders to remove Viktor Shokin — the corrupt former Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Defending President Trump by echoing his talking points, Soloviev exclaimed: 'There was no quid pro quo!'"
The conspiracy theories painting Ukraine as the real cause of 2016 election interference originate with the Kremlin, and the Ukrainian officials who have pushed the Biden corruption narrative have ties to pro-Russia parties.
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