US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday said he is willing to consider additional sanctions on Russia, and reiterated his support for US intelligence community findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
Speaking to reporters a day after President Donald Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ryan said if congressional committees believe further sanctions on Russia are necessary, "I'm more than happy to consider those."
"Russia is a menacing government that does not share our interests and it does not share our values," he said.
Trump on Tuesday morning cast his Monday meeting with Putin in a glowing light and attempted to discredit the widely held perception that the day he spent with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, was detrimental to the United States.
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"While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia," Trump wrote in a tweet. "Sadly, it is not being reported that way - the Fake News is going Crazy!"
While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, it is not being reported that way - the Fake News is going Crazy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 17, 2018
Trump's news conference alongside Putin, where he discounted US intelligence assessments that Russia meddled with the 2016 election, drew fire from members of both political parties, who said he put Russia above US interests.