"Why is it so hard for this administration just to say on the record this is absurd," former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul says. | AFP/Getty Images McFaul to meet with U.S. officials about possible indictment from Russia

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said Wednesday he’s planning to meet with officials from the State and Justice Departments and members of Congress following his visit with the National Security Council’s director for Russia.

McFaul said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he’s meeting with additional officials to discuss “the possibility that the Russian government will indict and convict me and the other [10] U.S. government officials of a crime that, of course, we had nothing to do with.”


He added that he will send the same message he sent to the White House: The possibility that Russia will indict Americans for a crime he said they didn’t commit is a matter of national security.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested during a joint news conference with President Donald Trump last week that American officials may interview 12 Russians indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller in exchange for allowing Moscow to interview Americans. Trump, during the news conference, called the proposal an “incredible offer.”

The next day, Moscow released a list of 11 Americans, including McFaul, who Russia would like to interview.

The White House later said no such offer would take place.

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On Tuesday, McFaul met with Fiona Hill, the NSC’s director for Russia, at the White House. The West Wing has yet to release a readout of the meeting, and McFaul declined to describe what was discussed at the meeting on MSNBC.

On Wednesday, McFaul criticized the Trump administration for not denouncing Putin’s proposal to interview American officials, saying it is a national security issue.

“Why is it so hard for this administration just to say on the record this is absurd, you cannot arrest our government officials for doing their jobs,” McFaul said. “Because if they don’t say that, it sends a very dangerous message that our diplomats, that our military service officers, that our intelligence officers working abroad can somehow be, you know, indicted and prosecuted for crazy crimes that, of course, we didn’t do.”

“So it’s in the national interest for them to do this. It’s not just about me,” he added.

