The Atlantic

Trump and Putin's Rashomon Summit

The U.S. claims Trump pressed Russia on interference in the election, while Russia claims the U.S. accepted that the Kremlin is innocent. Who knows what to believe?
Source: Carlos Barria / Reuters

Updated July 7 at 4 p.m.

Pundits eager to analyze the outcome of Friday’s first face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin don’t have much to go on. (Bold prediction: That won’t slow them down.)

In the absence of material information, many analysts rushed to read meaning into the length of the meeting in Hamburg, which was scheduled for just 30 minutes but dragged on for more than two hours. Attendance at the meeting was sharply limited, reportedly in order to avoid leaks: . That means that anyone curious

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