Putin Weighs In on Trump Impeachment, Hints at Staying in Power – By Charles Maynes (VOA News) / Dec 19 2019
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual press conference with journalists on Thursday — a more than four-hour freewheeling event highlighted by swipes at the push to impeach President Donald Trump and suggestions that an adjustment to Russia’s constitution could extend to Putin’s hold on power when his current term ends in 2024.
The annual press conference, now in its 15th year, long ago morphed into an exercise that paints Putin as the indispensable leader of the nation. The Russian leader was as comfortable reeling off the wages of doctors in far-flung Russian regions as he was discussing key global events.
This year’s event came a day after congressional Democrats voted to impeach President Donald Trump — the third time in U.S. history an American leader was formally sanctioned by Congress.
There was intense interest in what Putin might say about a process that has put allegations of Russian election interference — and unproven conspiracies of meddling by neighboring Ukraine in U.S. politics — under the microscope in Washington.
Yet when prompted, Putin appeared to echo White House talking points, arguing the impeachment process was a sham launched by Democrats for “completely fabricated reasons.”
“This is nothing but a continuation of an internal political struggle, with the party that lost the election, the Democratic Party, trying to reach its goal by different means,” Putin said.
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