White House Communications Chief Admits Wrongly Citing Trump's View on Sanctions

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Sunday, the new White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, told journalists that the Trump administration was supporting sanctions against Russia proposed by the US Congress. However, Scaramucci said earlier in the day that Trump had not decided yet on the issue, which contradicted the statement made by Sanders.

"My bad," Scaramucci told a New York Times reporter, apologizing for his mistake.

According to the newspaper, the mistake may be caused by Scaramucci's recent accession to office.

On Saturday, the text of the sanctions bill targeting Russia, Iran and North Korea was published on the website of the Congress. The voting in the House of Representatives will reportedly take place on Tuesday. In particular, the bill views Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project as a threat to energy security of Ukraine and the European Union and suggests providing US allies with financial aid to counter alleged Russian influence and possible cyberattacks by Russian hackers. On Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik that Moscow viewed the bill negatively.

Scaramucci, a Wall Street financier, was appointed as the White House communications director on Friday. The same day, White House press secretary Sean Spicer handed his resignation letter to Trump because of his disagreement with the administration's decision to choose Scaramucci for the position. Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders was appointed as the new White House press secretary same day after his resignation.