Trump-Putin ties face fresh scrutiny with Woodward book

Less than a month before the U.S. presidential election, former President Trump is facing fresh scrutiny on his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A bombshell book by celebrated journalist Bob Woodward, previewed this week by multiple outlets, revealed the two have secretly been in touch over the last few years, speaking at least seven times since Trump left office. The book also claimed that while still in office, the Republican nominee sent COVID-19 testing equipment to Putin in the early days of the pandemic.

The revelations, denied by the Trump team and partly confirmed by the Kremlin, have raised new questions into the nature and legality of the relationship between the two men, one of whom is an avowed adversary of the United States.

The criticism came quickly from current and former Biden administration officials and lawmakers.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration was “not aware” of calls between Trump and Putin and could not confirm if they had taken place, but if the claims are true, the administration would have “serious concerns.”

“It is concerning, especially when we know the former president was lobbying against more aid for Ukraine … to defend themselves against Russia,” Jean-Pierre said in a Wednesday press briefing. 

“We’re talking about President Putin here. We see what’s happening in Ukraine, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, that’s about democracy, that’s about Ukrainians fighting for their freedom,” she added later.

Wendy Sherman, former deputy secretary of state under Biden from 2021 to 2023, called Trump’s alleged conversations with Putin “disloyal” to the U.S.

“Clearly [Trump] works for Vladimir Putin; not for the American people. Dangerous, outrageous, disloyal, disqualifying,” she wrote on the social platform X.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), meanwhile, said former presidents “shouldn’t be calling foreign leaders, especially when they are our adversaries,” calling it “incredibly concerning.” 

“Putin is a guy who illegally attacked our ally, Ukraine, who is intentionally committing war crimes within Ukraine, and the former president has some sort of special relationship,” Kelly said Wednesday on CNN.

“I think it highlights the risk involved in putting Donald Trump back into the White House as commander in chief.”

Former White House adviser and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice suggested such calls would violate the Logan Act, which makes it illegal for American citizens to negotiate with foreign governments in dispute with the United States without prior approval. The statute is meant to prevent unauthorized diplomacy from undermining the current administration’s position.

While former presidents often speak with the leaders of other countries, it would be particularly abnormal for a previous commander in chief to maintain a dialogue with a country that has declared the United States an “enemy,” as Russia has done. 

According to Woodward’s account in “War,” out later this month, an unnamed aide told him that early this year they were ordered out of Trump’s office at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida so he could take a call with Putin. The aide also told Woodward that Trump spoke with Putin “maybe as many as seven” times in the nearly four years since leaving office.

Woodward noted in the book that he could not verify the aide’s account with other sources. 

Trump’s campaign has broadly denied the book’s claims, and the Kremlin on Wednesday denied the calls. But it confirmed another account in the book: Early in the pandemic, Trump sent Putin COVID testing machines, at the time a highly sought piece of medical equipment. 

Vice President Harris has criticized Trump for sending the equipment, which she noted everyone in the U.S. “was scrambling to get” at the time.

“This guy who is president of the United States is sending them to Russia, to a murderous dictator, for his personal use,” Harris said Tuesday during an interview with Howard Stern’s show on SiriusXM.

Even though the alleged calls remain unconfirmed, the former president has often boasted about his close relationship with the Russian leader.

Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Trump praised Putin as a “genius.” He later called the Kremlin attack “very smart” and said if NATO allies did not adequately fund their own militaries, he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to them.

Trump also has complained about the level of U.S. support to Kyiv and has declined to say if Ukraine should win the war, instead insisting that he would be able to quickly negotiate a peace deal if he won the presidency, in part due to his “very good relationship” with Putin. 

Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), last month outlined the terms of the former president’s supposed peace deal, which would favor Russia and force Ukraine to secede some of its land.

Trump also has greatly increased his mentions of Putin at campaign rallies this year compared to years past. He has referred to the Russian leader by name 41 times at those events, more often than in any year since he first became a presidential candidate in 2015, The New York Times reported.

Those in Trump’s orbit have brushed aside any suggestion that Trump may have violated the law if he did in fact speak with Putin, with Vance on Tuesday insisting there would be nothing wrong with speaking to world leaders.

Some have called those assertions hypocritical, given that in 2019, Trump publicly called for the prosecution of former Secretary of State John Kerry for taking private meetings with Iranian officials during the Trump administration. Trump insisted Kerry had violated the Logan Act. 

Former U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman later revealed he was pressured to launch an investigation into Kerry for possibly violating the statute, though it went nowhere.

Kerry was never charged with breaking that law, and he briefed top State Department officials on his discussions, which were reportedly to urge Tehran to stay in the Iran Nuclear Deal, brokered by the Obama administration. Trump later pulled the U.S. from the agreement.

Reached for comment, the White House declined to say whether conversations between Trump and Putin would potentially have violated the Logan Act or if it was looking into the matter.

The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill.