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Trump-backing congressman doesn't want a 2nd Putin summit in Washington

Rep. Ted Yoho, a Florida Republican who has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, said the US should "absolutely not" invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington.

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Sophie Tatum (CNN)
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Rep. Ted Yoho, a Florida Republican who has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, said the US should "absolutely not" invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington.

"I think with what you reported earlier and what we've seen with these three other candidates being already hacked this year, if indeed this does go back to Russians that are in the Russian military or government, absolutely not, I don't think we should invite President Putin over here at this time," Yoho said Friday on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."

On Thursday, the White House announced it had invited Putin to the nation's capital later this year for a second meeting between the two heads of state following the summit in Helsinki, Finland.

When asked about the announcement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was "happy that the two leaders of two very important countries are continuing to meet. If that meeting takes place in Washington, I think it's all to the good."

However, Yoho, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Russian interference in US elections is something that should not be tolerated.

"I do agree that we should have relationships with all leaders of all nations, but if it's something like this so soon after the election of (the) President, of the last election, and Russian meddling is still going on, I think we need to bring an end to it and send a strong signal," he told Blitzer.

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