McFaul to meet with U.S. officials about possible indictment from Russia

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul on Wednesday said he’s planning on meeting with officials from the State Department, Justice Department and members of Congress following his visit with the National Security Council's director for Russia. McFaul said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that he’s meeting with additional officials to discuss “the possibility that the Russian government will indict and convict me and the other 11 U.S. government officials of a crime that, of course, we had nothing to do with." He added that he is going to be sending the same message that he also sent to the White House: the possibility that Russia is going to indict Americans for a crime he said they didn't do is a matter of national security. Russian President Vladimir Putin during a joint press conference with President Donald Trump last week suggested that Washington officials can interview 12 Russians that were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller in exchange for allowing Moscow to interview Americans. Trump during the press conference called the proposal an "incredible offer." The next day, Moscow released a list of 11 Americans, including McFaul, that Russia would like to interview. The White House later said no such offer would take place. On Tuesday, McFaul met with Fiona Hill, the National Security Council's director for Russia, at the White House. The West Wing has yet to release a read out of the meeting, and he declined to describe what was discussed at the meeting on MSNBC. McFaul also on Wednesday criticized the Trump administration for not denouncing Putin's proposal of interviewing American officials, saying it is a national security issue. "Why is it so hard for this administration just to say on the record this is absurd, you cannot arrest our government officials for doing their jobs," McFaul said. "Because if they don't say that, it sends a very dangerous message that our diplomats, that our military service officers, that our intelligence officers working abroad can somehow be, you know, indicted and prosecuted for crazy crimes that, of course, we didn't do." "So it's in the national interest for them to do this. It's not just about me," he added. source: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/25/mike-mcfaul-russia-indictments-meeting-740419 #Headlines by: rmorin@politico.com (Rebecca Morin)

Original Post: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/25/mike-mcfaul-russia-indictments-meeting-740419