(Huffington Post) President Barack Obama’s new sanctions against Russian state hacking are a political masterstroke—and they may turn out to be an invaluable parting gift to Donald Trump.
Trump aide Kellyanne Conway is right that punishing Russia for its cyber attacks on the Democratic National Committee and other U.S. political figures will “box-in” Trump. She’s wrong about why, though. The reason the new sanctions limit Trump’s room for maneuver is that they don’t affect any U.S. business interests—so no one in the U.S. can really complain about them or demand that they be removed. For example, Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, soon-to-be-retired ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson, doesn’t have to worry about additional restrictions on Russian oil industry investments, even if he manages to hold on to the 2 million unvested shares he has in the company.
Instead, the new sanctions are directed against Russian intelligence agents and Russian criminals who are on the FBI’s most wanted list. Given that Trump will soon be facing powerful leaders from his own Republican Party in the House and Senate who find Russia threatening and, if anything, want to increase sanctions, there’s no reasonable way for him to suggest undoing these new measures. […]
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