Trump will have the right to impose sanctions for election interference

The Trump administration is preparing an executive order that would allow the president to impose sanctions for meddling in US elections, according to The Washington Post. Trump's critics have been skeptical of the order, saying it looks more like an attempt by the White House to halt other, tougher sanctions against Russia and silence opponents of the president who accuse him of relying too much on President Vladimir Putin's statements.

Details

• The draft decree provides that sanctions will be imposed against those persons who interfered in the elections, including "spreading false information on the Internet." In particular, the president will be able to impose restrictions against 10 of the 30 largest companies in the country that interfered in the elections. The eight-page executive order, of which the WP has seen a copy, is only a draft so far and may still be amended, a White House official said.
• The draft executive order is more like an attempt by the Administration to show that it is doing something about this issue, when in fact it is not, says former Pentagon and White House official Michael Carpenter. “Sanctions against foreigners for meddling in elections will not deter anyone. To really prevent intervention, you need to show a country like Russia that sanctions will be imposed automatically if events X, Y and Z occur,” he said.
• Trump is under intense pressure from his advisers, who are urging him to accuse Russia of aggression, White House sources said. His unwillingness to take such a step is perceived in the US as evidence of his guilt, the sources say.

Context

• On the eve of the administration of Donald trump decided to introduce new sanctions against Russia in punishment for the poisoning of ex-GRU Colonel Sergei Skripal in the UK. As part of the first round of sanctions on August 22, Washington may restrict exports to Russia of products that could cause significant damage to the national security of the United States. The second round of sanctions provides for a more serious punishment, up to a complete rupture of trade relations and a ban on flights to the United States of the national carrier.
• The new US sanctions were announced just a month after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Helsinki. It was expected that this meeting could lead to a warming of relations between the countries. However, a bipartisan bill was introduced to the US Congress last week on new sanctions. The publication of the full text of the American sanctions bill, which revealed a proposal to introduce tough sanctions against Russian state-owned banks, caused the strongest shock on the Russian market since the April sanctions.
• Commenting on the sanctions for the poisoning of the Skripals, the American media also wrote that the Trump administration is trying to seize the initiative on the Russian issue from Congress.

Liana Faizova