Trump has no choice but to sign Russia sanctions bill: Hermitage Capital CEO

close

video

Will Trump sign Russia sanctions bill on his desk?

'Red Notice' author Bill Browder on efforts to impose sanctions on Russia.

Congress overwhelmingly passed new sanctions against Russia Thursday, giving lawmakers the power to block President Trump from easing those sanctions against Moscow.

The legislation was first passed by the House with a 419-3 vote and sailed through a 98-2 vote in the Senate. Congress sent the Russian sanction bill to the president’s desk, but the question remains if President Trump sign it.

In an interview with FOX Business’ Liz Claman, Hermitage Capital CEO Bill Browder said Trump has no other choice to sign the Russian sanctions bill.

“Either if [Trump] vetoes it or if he just leaves it, it will become law and so I can’t imagine from a political standpoint that he would want to have egg on his face on this thing so I think he will sign it,” he said.

White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci suggested in a television interview that Trump may veto the bill and be tougher on Russia than Congress.

“[Scaramucci] has been one week on the job. He probably doesn’t know exactly where the president is on this particular piece of legislation,” Browder said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin retaliated by cutting the number of U.S. diplomats allowed in Russia and said it was seizing two U.S. diplomatic properties in Moscow.

Browder helped convince Congress that these sanctions are necessary by testifying on Capitol Hill in front of Senate Judiciary Committee.

“Vladimir Putin I believe to be the richest man in the world. I believe he is worth $200 billion that money is held all of the world in banks in America and all over. The purpose of Putin’s regime has been to commit terrible crimes in order to get that money,” he told the committee on Thursday.

Browder once ran one of the largest foreign investment fund in Russian companies from 1996 to 2006.