July 19, 2017•Update: July 19, 2017
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart held a second secret meeting behind closed doors during a gathering of the G20 summit earlier this month, according to media reports Tuesday.
Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin at the conclusion of a couples dinner at the conference in Hamburg, Germany, a White House official confirmed to NBC News.
The meeting was previously undisclosed and a less formal "pull-aside" than a scheduled bilateral meeting, according to NBC.
It followed Putin and Trump's first face-to-face that took place at the G20 gathering and lasted more than two hours.
Trump railed against the dishonest” media he said was aware of the meeting.
“Fake News story of secret dinner with Putin is ‘sick.’ All G 20 leaders, and spouses, were invited by the Chancellor of Germany. Press knew!,” he wrote on Twitter. “The Fake News is becoming more and more dishonest! Even a dinner arranged for top 20 leaders in Germany is made to look sinister!”
Ian Bremmer, the president of the Eurasia Group, first reported the meeting in a letter to clients. The group is a political risk consulting company.
Trump has spoken positively of Putin and Russia in the past, but his stated desire to smooth ties with Moscow has been derailed by at least three investigations into Russia's potential attempts to influence last year's presidential campaign.
The U.S.'s intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia sought to manipulate the polls in Trump's favor.
A special counsel has been appointed to head the FBI's probe into whether Trump's campaign team colluded with Russia on the matter.
Trump and his White House have steadfastly denied any cooperation took place.
