The Guardian, Sep 12 : Russian president claims former US president’s prosecutions are good for Russia in speech at Vladivostock conference.

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Russian president Vladimir Putin waded into the debate over the criminal charges facing Donald Trump, saying that the cases against the former US president amount to political “persecution” that exposes the fundamental “rottenness” of the American political system. 

Putin, speaking at an Eastern Economic Forum gathering in Russia’s Pacific coast city of Vladivostok on Tuesday, said the prosecution of Trump was good for Russia “because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others democracy”. 

The Russian leader added:  Everything that is happening with Trump is the persecution of a political rival for political reasons. That’s what it is. And this is being done in front of the public of the United States and the whole world.  Trump currently faces a total of 91 charges across four criminal cases in Georgia, Florida, New York and Washington DC. Opinion polls indicate that he holds a commanding lead over his rivals to become the Republican party’s candidate in the 2024 presidential election.