RFE/RL: White House says it's weighing Putin offer of joint police interrogations - Jul. 19, 2018

RFE/RL: White House says it’s weighing Putin offer of joint police interrogations

Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the investment fund Hermitage Capital Management Bill Browder attends the "Prospects for Russia after Putin" debate in the Houses of Parliament, central London on November 18, 2014. The event saw political activists, journalists and politicians discussing the state of Russia under Putin's control and the effects that his policies are having on the world.

Photo by AFP

The White House and the U.S. State Department are at odds over an offer by Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow U.S. prosecutors access to 12 Russians accused of hacking the 2016 election if Russian prosecutors who are pursuing Kremlin critic William Browder are allowed to interrogate several Americans.

The White House said late on July 18 that it is considering the offer, made by Putin to President Donald Trump at their summit in Helsinki on July 16, but the State Department and FBI dismissed Russia’s request, with the department calling it “absolutely absurd.”