CNN reported that Russia has responded to the announcement of sanctions by the U.S. government by imposing sanctions of their own—on President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Russia’s sanctions also extend to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, National security adviser Jacob Sullivan, CIA Director William Burns, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Daleep Singh, Biden’s deputy national security adviser for international economics, United States Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, President Biden’s son Hunter Biden, Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Reta Jo Lewis, and the president and chairman of the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank.
Former President Donald Trump quickly responded to the news. Newsweek reported Trump’s statement:
“Breaking News: Russia just sanctioned Joe Biden. While that is a terrible thing, in so many ways, perhaps it will now be explained why the Biden family received 3.5 million dollars from the very wealthy former Mayor of Moscow’s wife.”
“During our Presidential Debate, ‘moderator’ Chris Wallace, then of Fox, would not let me ask that question. He said it was inappropriate. Perhaps that’s why Biden has been so ‘slow on the draw’ with Russia.”
“This is a really bad conflict of interest that will, perhaps now, be fully and finally revealed!”
Russia’s announcement of the sanctions read:
“In response to a series of unprecedented sanctions prohibiting, among other things, entry into the United States for top officials of the Russian Federation, from March 15 of this year, the Russian’ stop list’ includes on the basis of reciprocity President J. Biden, Secretary of State A. Blinken, Secretary of Defense L. Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff M. Milley, as well as a number of department heads and prominent U.S. figures.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the sanctions were an “inevitable consequence of the extremely Russophobic course taken by the current U.S. Administration, which, in a desperate attempt to maintain American hegemony, has relied, discarding all decency, on the frontal constricting of Russia.”
The Foreign Ministry statement continued: “At the same time, we do not refuse to maintain official relations if they meet our national interests, and, if necessary, we will solve problems arising from the status of persons who appear on the ‘blacklist’ in order to organize high-level contacts.”
Russia also threatened additional sanctions could extend to include “top U.S. officials, military officials, lawmakers, businessmen, experts, and media people who are Russophobic or contribute to inciting hatred towards Russia and the introduction of restrictive measures.”
CNN reported
“The move is largely symbolic as it seems unlikely that members of Biden’s administration would be traveling to Russia any time soon as the U.S. and its allies move to punish Putin and members of Russia’s elites for invading Ukraine. Biden and his administration have ruled out potential meetings with Putin and have questioned whether he is seriously interested in a diplomatic solution to the war.”
According to 911 Breaking News, White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested the sanctions will not significantly impact their intended targets, telling reporters during Tuesday’s press briefing:
“It won’t surprise any of you that none of us are planning tourist trips to Russia, none of us have bank accounts that we won’t be able to access, so we will forge ahead.”
When Psaki was asked whether the new sanctions signal an escalation by Russia, Psaki replied the U.S. is “confident” its officials “will have the ability” to have continued direct and indirect conversations with Russia.
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