President Biden’s weakness on the world stage is on full display again as new sanctions on Russia have failed to curb President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. And during Wednesday’s edition of The Lead, CNN host Jake Tapper pressed on this truth and was backed up by OutFront host Erin Burnett, who was reporting from Lviv, Ukraine.
“A lot of people think that it’s not enough. It's not enough to dissuade Putin and that seems to be born out with what we're watching now,” Tapper told Burnett. And she agreed, stating that “the bottom line is … it is not enough.”
Burnett did try to give the Biden administration cover by suggesting she doesn’t “think they're trying to pretend that the individuals that they've sanctioned are going to stop anything. I think they were trying to send a signal that they were willing to go much farther.”
But she did admit that those targeted by the recent sanctions were not important enough to get Putin’s attention. In fact, they weren’t in the “top ten” of oligarch and you’d have to go “way, way, way, way, way down the list” to find them:
I can tell you. There’s people who are elite and important and there are people who are incredibly wealthy and may also be elite and important. Right? Oligarchs. And the reality of itis, Jake, of the top ten oligarchs, if you look at Forbes, not a single one of them are among those that the White House has sanctioned.
And by the way, you’d have to go way, way, way, way, way down the list to get these individuals. So, there's a lot more that can be done if you think this path is a path that could put pressure on Putin internally in Russia.
Tapper then looked to former Deputy Director of National Intelligence and CNN national security analyst Beth Sanner (of the Trump administration) and openly questioned Biden’s plan to “hold back sanctions against oligarchs” because he’s spoken to people who argue, “this is not a deterrence at all. We really need to hit Putin and the Russian oligarchs where they live.”
Sanner laid out her perspective in stark and no uncertain terms: “I don't believe that any degree or amount of sanctions will make any difference or would have made any difference. That's my perspective.”
She noted that “Putin has a $630 billion piggy bank, a rainy day fund” and “has been preparing for dealing with sanctions over many, many years.”
“[G]etting in the mindset of Putin,” she warned that rebuilding the old Soviet sphere of influence was everything to Putin, thus “no amount of sanctions is worth what his legacy and what he believes to be Russian history that he's setting right.”
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s The Lead
February 23, 2022
4:29:33 p.m. EasternJAKE TAPPER: And Erin, you've reported on the oligarchs who are now facing some U.S. sanctions. A lot of people think that it’s not enough. It's not enough to dissuade Putin and that seems to be born out with what we're watching now. But what can you tell us about who exactly has been impacted by these sanctions?
ERIN BURNETT: Right. So, the bottom line is, you're completely right, Jake. It is not enough. But the U.S. government knows that. I don't think they're trying to pretend that the individuals that they've sanctioned are going to stop anything. I think they were trying to send a signal that they were willing to go much farther.
They sanctioned three individuals, a deputy chief of staff to Putin, the head of the FSB -- the internal security service, and the head of a bank, and two of those individuals' sons. But, you know, not broader family members and not a broader list of oligarchs.
I can tell you. There’s people who are elite and important and there are people who are incredibly wealthy and may also be elite and important. Right? Oligarchs. And the reality of itis, Jake, of the top ten oligarchs, if you look at Forbes, not a single one of them are among those that the White House has sanctioned.
And by the way, you’d have to go way, way, way, way, way down the list to get these individuals. So, there's a lot more that can be done if you think this path is a path that could put pressure on Putin internally in Russia.
TAPPER: Beth, does it make sense to hold back sanctions against oligarchs the way that the Biden is doing so right now. They say she don't want to shoot all their ammunition right now. They want to give Putin an opportunity to stand down. I’ve heard other people argue, ‘really, this is not a deterrence at all. We really need to hit Putin and the Russian oligarchs where they live.’
BETH SANNER (former deputy director of National Intelligence): I don't believe that any degree or amount of sanctions will make any difference or would have made any difference. That's my perspective.
Putin has a $630 billion piggy bank, a rainy day fund. He has been preparing for dealing with sanctions over many, many years. Russia has enormous amount of sanctions on them now. So, getting in the mindset of Putin, no amount of sanctions is worth what his legacy and what he believes to be Russian history that he's setting right.
(…)
