Trump approves new sanctions against Russia
By
Bill Van Auken
3 August 2017
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed into law sweeping sanctions legislation that targets Russia, as well as Iran and North Korea, with punishing economic measures that will serve to ratchet up war tensions in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The legislation threatens to escalate dangerous US conflicts not only with the three targeted countries, but also with Washington’s erstwhile imperialist allies in Western Europe.
Trump signed the legislation, which was passed by overwhelming votes of 98-to-two in the Senate and 419-to-three in the House, behind closed doors with no public ceremony or press coverage. He accompanied his action with not just one, but two, so-called “signing statements.” The first, while couched in fairly sober legal language, contained an expansive interpretation of presidential powers and condemned the legislation as “significantly flawed” and for containing “unconstitutional provisions.”
Indicating that the White House intends to interpret the law as it sees fit, the statement added that Trump, “will give careful and respectful consideration to the preferences expressed by the Congress in these various provisions and will implement them in a manner consistent with the President’s constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations.”
The second statement was essentially an amended version of the first, ginned up by Trump himself to express his belligerent narcissism and including some crude barbs against the US Congress and its Republican majority. Criticizing the legislation’s imposition of limits on the administration’s negotiating any alteration of the sanctions imposed against Russia by the Obama administration last December over…