President Trump did not follow specific warnings from his national security advisers when
he congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday on his reelection, including a section in his briefing materials in all-capital letters stating "DO NOT CONGRATULATE," according to officials familiar with the call.
Trump also chose not to heed talking points from aides instructing him to condemn Putin about the recent poisoning of a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom with a powerful nerve agent, a case that both the British and U.S. governments have blamed on Moscow.
The president's conversation with Putin, which Trump called a "very good call," prompted fresh criticism of his muted tone toward one of the United States's biggest geopolitical rivals amid the ongoing special counsel investigation into Russia's election interference and the Trump campaign's contacts with Russian officials.
