02-14-2017 (Photo: File:Grand Kremlin Palace Andreevsky hall. ) http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/contact http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/schedules http://johnbatchelorshow.com/blog Twitter: @BatchelorShow

Kremlin-Baiting Trump: Allegations So Far. Stephen F. Cohen, @NYU @Princeton.

What We Don’t Know ■ It is not clear whether Mr. Flynn’s conversations with the Russian ambassador were directed by, or carried out with the knowledge of, the president-elect or any of his other senior advisers, including the chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon. It is also not clear why the White House did not act earlier on the information given to it by the Justice Department.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/mike-flynn-resign-pence-russia.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=a-lede-package-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

WASHINGTON — Russia has secretly deployed a new cruise missile that American officials say violates a landmark arms control treaty, posing a major test for President Trump as his administration is facing a crisis over its ties to Moscow.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/world/europe/russia-cruise-missile-arms-control-treaty.html?_r=0

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear he expects Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine and reduce violence in Ukraine, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Tuesday. "President Trump has made it very clear that he expects the Russian government to de-escalate violence in the Ukraine and return Crimea," Spicer said at a daily news briefing. "At the same time, he fully expects to and wants to get along with Russia."

http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-02-14/trump-expects-russia-to-return-crimea-to-ukraine-white-house

What the Russians are doing by stealing documents, spending unlimited amounts of money and creating and distributing “fake news” has the potential to corrupt our political system to its core, if it hasn’t already. If Russia invades the Baltic states, could US assistance to them die in Congress because elected officials fear Russian retaliation? It sounds unbelievable, but we saw the GOP mysteriously change its platform this summer, removing aid to Ukraine – and that was before Putin proved his influence over the election.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/07/russia-hacked-us-election-democracy-vladimir-putin