US says it is shuttering last 2 consulates in Russia

Ex-IBM CEO Sam Palmisano and Cyber Readiness Institute Managing Director Kiersten Todt join'Special Report' with analysis WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has notified Congress that it intends to shutter the last two remaining U.S. consulates in Russia. The State Department told lawmakers last week that it would permanently close the consulate in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok and temporarily suspend operations at the consulate in Yekaterinburg just east of the Ural Mountains. The notice was sent to Congress on Dec. 10 but received little attention at the time. That timing predates by three days the public emergence of news about a major suspected Russian computer intrusion into U.S. government and private computer systems that has raised grave cybersecurity fears. Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks via video call during a news conference as journalists wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, observe social distancing guidelines watch him at a big screen in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020.