From the New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

Today, President Trump and President Putin meet today in Helsinki.

What it means that just three days ago, the U.S. government indicted 12 Russian officials

for their meddling in the 2016 election.

It's Monday, July 16th.

Matapuzo, what happened last time?

President Trump and President Putin met.

So last time they met was in Asia last November, at a summit. It was like a

pull-as-side meeting. On the way home, the president had an interview with

reporter's board Air Force One and they said, hey, how'd your meeting with Putin

go? And he said it was really well. And the reporter said, well, did you guys

talk at all about, you know, Russian efforts to interfere with the election?

And the president, you know, said several times, he said, Putin said he didn't

medal. He didn't medal. He can only ask this question so many times. He didn't

do it. And he also made clear the one Putin said that, that he believed it. He said

every time he sees me, he says, I didn't do that.

I haven't seen even once any direct proof of Russian interference in the

presidential election in the United States. I really believe in when he tells me

that. I really believe that he means it. And that Putin was getting insulted

by the fact that that kept coming up. Hackers can be anywhere. They can be in

Russia, in Asia. They can even be hackers, by the way, in the United

States, who very skillfully and professionally shifted the blame, as we say,

...