Trump picks Putin critic as adviser on Russia

Fiona Hill is a British-born academic who has accused the Russian president of using blackmail and intimidation and operating like a mafia don.

US attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, in the latest embarrassment to the Trump administration over alShow more

NEW YORK // The White House is preparing to appoint a respected academic and critic of Vladimir Putin as its chief Russia expert, in a sign that Donald Trump’s “bromance” with the Russian leader is cooling amid a growing scandal about ties between their administrations.

Fiona Hill, a British-born analyst and writer, has advocated maintaining sanctions on Mr Putin’s government while supplying arms to Ukraine in its confrontation with Moscow.

Washington sources said she was undergoing background checks before taking up the post in the National Security Council.

It could be one of the toughest jobs in the administration.

Intelligence officials say the Kremlin ordered a cyber attack on Democrats during last year’s election in an effort to help Mr Trump, its favoured candidate.

On Thursday, Jeff Sessions, Mr Trump’s attorney general, was forced to step aside from a justice department investigation after it emerged he misled senators over conversations he held with the Russian ambassador during the campaign.

Although no evidence has emerged of any collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, the issue has already claimed one senior figure and continues to cast a long shadow over a president who came to power praising Mr Putin.

Dr Hill has made no secret of her view of Mr Putin and his background as Russia's top spy. She has said he views other world leaders as "targets", has accused him of using blackmail and intimidation and in her book, Mr Putin: Operative in the Kremlin, she likened his management style to that of a mafia don.

Her close-up understanding of Mr Putin is based in part on her time as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council under George W Bush.

In contrast, her new boss has praised Mr Putin’s tough demeanour and says he would gladly team up with Russia to defeat terrorism. Critics were concerned Mr Trump might trade US interests in exchange for intelligence sharing and military cooperation against ISIL – fears which intensifed in when American intelligence agencies publicly blamed Russia last October for email hacks directed at Mr Trump’s opponents.

Since then, a dossier compiled by a former British intelligence has surfaced suggesting ties between Mr Trump’s circle and Russian intelligence. Its unverified contents also claimed Moscow’s spies believe they have compromising information on the new president that they could use to blackmail him.

And last month, Michael Flynn, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, was forced to resign after only 24 days when it emerged he had misled vice president Mike Pence over conversations with the Russian ambassador to Washington.

Mr Trump’s attorney general is merely the latest figure snared in the growing scandal.

In January, under oath, he told the senate he had not met Russian officials during the campaign. On Thursday he was forced to clarify his words, conceding that he twice met the Russian ambassador, but only in his capacity as a senator.

“In retrospect, I should have slowed down and said, ‘But I did meet one Russian official a couple of times,’” Mr Sessions admitted after announcing he would recuse himself from any investigation into the campaign.

Robert Shapiro, professor of political science at Columbia University, said Mr Sessions’ recusal was far from the end of the matter.

“If they are innocent of any wrongdoing they should have been much more transparent,” he said. “They have let everyone suspect there is a cover-up here.”

He added that the White House appeared to be changing its stance on Russia.

“Part of it may have to do with this investigation and part of it is that people they finally managed to appoint do not agree with Trump and his advisers,” he said.

This week the US and Russia clashed in a vote at the United Nations for the first time since Mr Trump took power. America’s permanent representative to the United Nations condemned Russia for vetoing a resolution that would have punished Syria for using chemical weapons.

And even Mr Trump has cooled his ardour for Russia’s strongman ruler.

“I would love to be able to get along with Russia,” he said last month. “It’s possible I won’t be able to get along with Putin.”