Trump official proposed withdrawing US troops from Eastern Europe to please Putin: report

An official for President Donald Trump National Security Council proposed to draw down United States' armed forces in Eastern Europe to please Vladimir Putin, The Daily Beastreported Tuesday.

Kevin Harrington, the NSC's senior official for strategic planning, suggested withdrawing troops in close proximity to the Russian borders to appease Putin.

Harrington had no military experience before joining the Trump administration, but had instead worked as a managing director for the Thiel Macro hedge fund, run by close Trump ally Peter Thiel.

A former administration official alerted The Beast to Harrington's proposal.

“I sensed we were giving something and it wasn’t clear what we were gaining in return,” the former official explained.

Harrington's primary audience for the proposal was then-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

The proposal was made in a strategy paper that didn't mention Russia as either a competitor or adversary.