In a moment when all eyes are on the continuing story of Donald Trump, Jr.’s emails and possible collusion with Russian officials to rig the 2016 U.S. presidential election, UT International Law Professor Robert Blitt has provided insight about American and Russian relations.
Blitt was quoted in a story from The Tennesseean following Trump Jr.’s release of emails on July 10, 2017. Blitt told The Tennesseean, “meeting with a Russian operative doesn’t typically happen without a ‘quid pro quo’ pretext.”
“When the government of Russia or an agent of the government of Russia is approaching you with an offer of information, given its dealings and the way that it operates, I would hope those parties that are being approached would be well aware of the fact that those offers of information are not going to come gratis,” Blitt said.
Read more of The Tennessean’s story here.
Blitt, who joined the UT faculty in 2007, came to Tennessee from Washington, D.C. There he served as International Law Specialist for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bi-partisan agency created by Congress to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad.
Prior to joining the Commission, Blitt spent over five years in the Middle East serving with the Department of International Agreements in Israel’s Ministry of Justice.