Trump to Sign Russia Sanctions Bill -- Update
July 28 2017 - 11:30PM
Dow Jones News
By Natalie Andrews
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump plans to sign a sanctions
bill aimed at punishing Russia for its alleged interference in the
2016 U.S. election, the White House said Friday.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders sent a
statement to reporters late Friday saying the president has
reviewed the final version of the bill "and, based on its
responsiveness to his negotiations, approves the bill and intends
to sign it."
The measure, which also imposes sanctions on Iran and North
Korea, passed the Senate on Thursday on a 98-2 vote. The same bill
passed the House on Tuesday, 419-3. The overwhelming majority
showed the president that there was enough strength in Congress to
override a veto should he choose to block the legislation.
While the measure was debated in Congress, White House officials
wouldn't commit to whether the president would sign the bill,
saying it may infringe on presidential authority. The bill included
a provision that would require the president to consult Congress
before relaxing any sanctions against Moscow or restoring Russia's
control over diplomatic compounds in the U.S. that had been seized
by the Obama administration as part of U.S. reprisals for the
alleged election interference.
Mr. Trump has expressed skepticism about U.S. intelligence
findings that Russia meddled in the election. Russia has denied the
allegations.
Should the bill become law, the president would have to notify
Congress if he wants to lift sanctions on Moscow. Congress then
would have 30 days to pass a resolution of disapproval to stop the
president. Should Mr. Trump veto that resolution, Congress would
have 10 days to override the veto.
The legislation represents a political challenge for the
president, coming as congressional committees and Special Counsel
Robert Mueller are investigating Russia's actions last year in a
probe that also is seeking to determine whether anyone in the Trump
campaign colluded with Moscow. Mr. Trump and Russian officials have
denied any collusion.
A U.S. intelligence assessment in January concluded that the
alleged Russian interference was directed from the highest levels
of its government. Its tactics allegedly included hacking state
election systems; infiltrating and leaking information from party
committees and political strategists; and using social media and
other outlets to disseminate negative stories about Democratic
nominee Hillary Clinton and positive messages about Mr. Trump.
Russia didn't wait for the White House to announce whether Mr.
Trump would sign the bill to retaliate. Moscow struck back Friday,
forcing Washington to cut its diplomatic presence in the country to
455 and close a U.S. diplomatic retreat outside Moscow. If the
limit applies to overall staff, the result would be a dramatic
reduction in the U.S. government's operation in the country, which
includes the embassy in Moscow and consulates in St. Petersburg,
Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg.
The bill would tighten restrictions on the extension of credit
to Russian entities and mandate sanctions on those deemed to be
undermining cybersecurity as well as those engaging in significant
transactions involving the Russian defense and intelligence
sectors.
It would allow some joint energy ventures to go ahead but would
sanction new projects and joint ventures in which a sanctioned
Russian person or entity holds a stake of 33% or more.
The bill maintains a provision that says the president may
impose penalties on firms backing a high-profile Russian pipeline
project but stops short of mandating penalties. That provision has
upset Europeans because it poses a potential risk to the Nord
Stream 2 pipeline, a Gazprom project backed by a consortium of five
European companies, to transport gas from Russia to Europe through
the Baltic Sea.
After European countries, including Germany and Austria,
protested, lawmakers added a stipulation that the president may
impose sanctions, but "in coordination with allies of the United
States."
U.S. energy companies had lobbied Congress against the bill,
citing their concern over an earlier version that included measures
to block partnerships with Russian individuals or companies, which
they said could scuttle any U.S. business partnership that involved
Russian entities.
The U.S. Treasury Department recently imposed a $2 million fine
on Exxon Mobil Corp. for signing eight documents relating to oil
and gas projects in Russia that were also signed by Igor Sechin,
who was under U.S. sanctions at the time.
The legislation also imposes new sanctions on Iran's
ballistic-missile program and the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps,
and attempts to squeeze the cash available to North Korea for its
nuclear and ballistic-missile programs.
Write to Natalie Andrews at Natalie.Andrews@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 28, 2017 23:15 ET (03:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.