‘Not WELCOME here’: Putin NOT INVITED to Congress in major US snub

Following Mr Trump’s controversial meeting in Helsinki on July 16, where he was seen to give credence to Mr Putin’s denials of Russian interference in the 2016 election despite the findings of the US intelligence community, Mr Trump invited the Russian leader to visit the US.

Mr Trump hailed the summit a success and invited Putin to visit Washington in the autumn.

Mr Putin is yet to confirm if he has accepted the president’s invitation, which would potentially take place around the time of the November Congressional elections.

Now, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, both Republicans – have warned as invitation to Congress is only extended to allies of the US as unrest among US lawmakers grows.

Mr Ryan andMr McConnell rejected the idea of the Russian President being asked to address a joint session of Congress, typically considered an honor for visiting foreign leaders.

Mr Ryan, who was once an outspoken critic of Mr Trump during the 2016 elections, said: “We would certainly not be giving him an invitation to do a joint session. That’s something we reserve for allies.”

Meanwhile, top Senate Republican Mr McConnell warned Russia to not meddle in future elections.

He told reporters in Washington: “The Russians better quit messing around in our elections. They did it the last time. They better not do it again.

“The speaker and I have made it clear that Putin will not be welcome up here at the Capitol.”

Speaking further, Mr Ryan rejected the idea of Mr Putin giving a speech before the Congress, which is considered an honour for visiting foreign leaders.

He said: “We would certainly not be giving him an invitation to do a joint session. That’s something we reserve for allies.”

The US intelligence community concluded Russia used a campaign of propaganda and hacking to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election to aid Trump’s candidacy.

The agency also warned that Moscow is working to meddle in the November congressional elections.

But House Speaker Mr Ryan said he did not have a problem with Mr Trump sitting down with foreign leaders like Putin, as long as he was delivering the right message.

He said: “If the message is, ‘Stop meddling in our country, stop violating our sovereignty,’ then I support that. But it’s the message that counts.”

On July 16, the Russian President acknowledged he wanted Mr Trump to win the election against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton but denied election meddling.

But some GOP members are not convinced.

Representative Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said: “I’m suspicious of everything Putin does.”

Following the summit, former CIA director John Brennan branded Mr Trump’s speech as “nothing short of treasonous”.

But on Monday, The White House confirmed Mr Trump was looking at revoking the security clearances of Brennan and five other former officials who have been critical of the president.

But Mr Ryan downplayed Mr Trump’s threat to the officials and said: “I think he’s trolling people, honestly.”