Trump ‘closeness’ to embolden Putin, weaken NATO pact, says UK

Bloomberg

The UK government is deeply concerned that Donald Trump’s closeness to Russia will give sway to Vladimir Putin in eastern Europe
and weaken US ties with its traditional Western allies.
The US President-elect caused alarm in London after saying he wants a warmer relationship with Russian President than the Obama administration had, according to two senior officials, who did not want to be named discussing a sensitive matter.
The individuals raised fears that Trump could water down American commitments in three crucial foreign policy areas: backing for Ukraine against Russian aggression; and financing NATO. As Russia poses the greatest espionage threat to the UK, any new deal between Putin and Trump could call into question the safety of sharing British intelligence with the US, the officials said.
One U.K. official said the threat of a close relationship between the two was causing more concern within May’s administration than planning for Brexit, and had been discussed at high levels in May’s national security team. In an e-mailed statement, a UK government spokeswoman said “we’re not going to speculate on how the new U.S. administration
might develop its foreign policy. Strong dialogue between Russia and the US is in the
UK interest.”
“We haven’t had a situation in which a president or an aspiring president has taken such a sympathetic position to Russia, in direct contrast to America’s major western European allies, since the start of the Cold War,” said Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.

Building bridges
May’s government is trying to build bridges with Trump’s team after a difficult start to their relationship following criticism of him on Twitter by her aides.
With the UK preparing to leave the European Union, building a stronger bond with the US is critical. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson met key Trump advisers in New York this week and declared on his return to London that the incoming administration was keen for a new trade deal.
Even before the release of unsubstantiated allegations on Trump’s ties with Russia, British officials were concerned about the president-elect’s stance towards Moscow. Trump will be sworn in Jan. 20.
“If Putin likes Donald Trump, guess what folks: That is called an asset, not a liability,” the president-elect said Wednesday in his first news conference since July.
Threatening Ukraine
Both officials said the major concern was that Trump could give Putin the opportunity to extend his influence in eastern Europe by withdraw support for the government of Ukraine and pulling US troops out of the region. Another worry is that Trump could splinter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by demanding smaller countries bolster their spending or face the
possibility of not being defended in the event of an attack.
One official said that if the new administration grows too close to Putin, it would raise alarms that British secrets could be passed to Moscow and jeopardize intelligence-sharing with the US.
“We have seen over the last period the way in which Trump has been very reluctant indeed to criticize Russia, while he has been much more prepared to criticize China,” said Chalmers.
At least two key national security nominees do not share Trump’s pro-Putin views. In Senate confirmation hearings, his choices for Defense Secretary, James Mattis and Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, contradicted their boss on Russia.
“At this stage, it is difficult to call what Trump’s new relationship with Russia will look like so the UK, like everyone else, will have to wait and see what happens,” said Crispin Blunt, the Conservative party lawmaker who chairs the UK parliament foreign affairs committee.

Trump’s CEO meetings raise ethics questions 

WASHINGTON / AP

President-elect Donald Trump’s meetings with CEOs seeking federal approval for major mergers are raising red flags for ethics lawyers concerned about the possible erosion of a firewall between the incoming White House and regulators reviewing those billion-dollar deals.
Trump met this past week with the heads of German chemical company Bayer and seed and herbicide giant Monsanto, who made their case for their $57 billion merger. The deal would likely need to be approved by Trump’s choices to lead antitrust enforcement at the Justice Department. On Thursday, Trump sat down to discuss jobs with the chief executive of AT&T, which is trying to acquire Time Warner.
Presidents typically keep their distance from such reviews, so as not to appear to be exerting political influence on a regulatory process intended to evaluate the impact a merger could have on competition and consumers. Trump’s private sessions suggest he may be less worried with appearing to be close to pending deals that require government approval.
“While it’s true the Department of Justice is under the executive branch, it’s not appropriate for the president to make that regulatory decision — and certainly not for political considerations,” said Bruce Green, a law school professor at Fordham University who specializes in ethics.
Green equated the meetings to a 2016 campaign controversy: Bill Clinton’s conversation with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on the Phoenix airport tarmac at a time when the Justice Department was looking into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. “If the conversation is private, it will raise questions and suspicions,” Green said. Part of the challenge is not knowing what was precisely said at the meetings.