Team Trump Again Fighting To Block Sanctions Against One Of Trump's Strongman Pals
So nice to see you again. I'm such a fan of your work.Credit: Getty Images
December 24, 2019

Yet again, the Trump administration is fighting against Congress' imposition of sanctions against one of Donald's best pals. We can't possibly impose sanctions on Turkey for purchasing Russian military equipment despite a U.S. law requiring sanctions on countries that purchase Russian equipment, says Team Trump. It would make Donald's good friend Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan too sad.

That's the basics of it, anyway. After the Russian government conducted a massive espionage and propaganda campaign aimed at the 2016 United States elections, Congress imposed a list of required sanctions against nations that purchased Russian military hardware as means of punishing the Putin government. Despite this, Turkey purchased Russian surface-to-air missiles anyway, all but daring the Trump government to impose the required sanctions.

Trump didn't, because he's a coward and a massive, massive pushover. So the House and Senate are now set to pass a new bill taking it out of White House hands and mandating specific sanctions against Turkey. Trump's team, doing their bestest to satisfy every urge and burp of the coward and pushover in "chief," has now sent a letter complaining that no, no, you can't do that because that would make Erdogan even more friendly with Russia, what we really ought to do is just have master negotiator Captain Pushover deal with this himself or whatever.

Oh, and they also are upset about a part of the bill making it easier for Syrian Kurdish refugees—the same Syrian Kurds that Trump sold out when he ordered U.S. forces to retreat in advance of a Turkish assault against Kurdish-held lands—to immigrate to this country. Stephen Miller probably wrote that part. Hell, he probably wrote the whole thing.

Published with permission from Daily Kos.

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