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Article snippet: MORE on Monday refused to denounce Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and criticized the special counsel investigation — all while standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference following their meeting in Helsinki. In an extraordinary scene broadcast live to a worldwide audience, Trump sided with Russia over his own intelligence agencies’ conclusion about Russia’s meddling in the election. “I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be,” Trump added. “So, I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.” Trump offered the remarks after Putin again publicly denied involvement in the U.S. election. During his opening remarks, Putin insisted Russia “has never interfered and is not going to interfere into internal American affairs,” even as he later admitted that he wanted Trump to beat Democratic presidential nominee MORE in 2016. “Yes, I did, because he was the one who wanted to normalize relations with Russia,” Putin said. The president showed little interest in publicly challenging Putin over the issue, a stance that drew accusations of weakness from Democrats and condemnations from GOP critics and even some media outlets typically friendly to Trump. Sen. MORE (R-Ariz.) labeled Trump’s press conference “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.” Speaker MORE (R-Wis.), who ha... Link to the full article to read more