Fox & Friends gives Trump administration credit for “cracking down on Russia” after it belatedly implements legally required sanctions

New sanctions were mandated by US and international law for Russia’s nerve agent assassination attempt in the UK

Written by Nick Fernandez

Published

Fox & Friends is, yet again, pointing to congressionally-mandated sanctions the Trump administration is (belatedly) implementing to claim the president is “cracking down on Russia.”

On August 8, the State Department announced a new round of sanctions against the Russian government and affiliated entities in response to the use of a Soviet-era nerve agent in the attempted assassination of a former Russian spy and his daughter on British soil in March. Months later, in July, two British civilians also came into contact with the nerve agent, which killed one of them.

Now, Fox & Friends is pointing to the newest round of sanctions to claim the president is “holding Russia accountable” and “screwing this collusion thing up,” even though the sanctions are mandated by Congress and international law, and the administration has been late in implementing them.

AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): The Trump administration holding Russia accountable.

BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): Again. The U.S. is issuing brand new sanctions, and this, after the attempted assassination of a former Russian spy and his daughter. They've been investigating since, and they don't like what they've found.

STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): Griff Jenkins live in Washington, D.C. with the details on how the U.S. of A is cracking down on Russia.

...

DOOCY: It looks as if the president is screwing this collusion thing up because I've been watching on the other channels, “He's been colluding with Russia.” And yet, once again, they're cracking down on Russia.

EARHARDT: Slapping sanctions.

DOOCY: Flying in the face of that narrative with new sanctions.

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KILMEADE: Every step of the way the president's done this, but he doesn't trumpet it. He doesn't say, “Hey, I've got a press conference, here are the sanctions.” He just puts them on, and the next thing you know, they're mounting and I think they are significant. Especially they still focus on the Maginsky (sic) Act, and what he did to certain oligarchs surrounding Vladimir Putin, because it's really throttled their individual banking ability and investment ability.