"Perhaps the most positive result from this meeting will be that the new US sanctions on Russia are in trouble in the US House [of Representatives]," McAdams said on Friday.
Earlier on Friday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters that Trump and Putin spoke in a meeting in Hamburg, Germany about the most recent sanctions against Russia and discussed ways to move forward from the issue of Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 US election.
McAdams suggested that immediately upon returning from Hamburg, Trump should visit the speaker and leadership of the US House of Representatives to make clear there will be severe repercussions should the new sanctions bill pass.
"The ‘Russiagate’ nonsense has run its course with zero evidence and it's time for House Republicans to get with the program and begin to support their President when it comes to pursuing an opening in relations with Russia," McAdams stated.
On June 15, the US Senate approved new sanctions against Russia in connection with Moscow’s alleged meddling in the US election. The bill presupposes the possibility of sanctions against persons who intend to invest more than $5 million per year or $1 million at a time in the construction of Russian export pipelines or provide projects with services, technology and information support.
On June 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would wait and see how the new US sanctions targeting Russia look like if they are introduced, but emphasized the measures are counterproductive to bilateral US-Russia relations.
Russian officials have repeatedly refuted allegations of election meddling, characterizing them as absurd and intended to deflect public attention from actual instances of election fraud and corruption as well as other domestic concerns.
The bill still must pass the House of Representatives and be signed by the president to become a law.
