Putin denies interfering in US election

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin testily rejected the idea that his government had interfered in the 2016 US election – or that he is holding compromising evidence against US President Donald Trump – in an interview broadcast Sunday on night with NBC’s Megyn Kelly.

“They have been misled,” Putin responded when Kelly said that American intelligence agencies had concluded that Russia interfered in the campaign with the goal of electing Trump. “They aren’t analysing the information in its entirety. I haven’t seen any direct proof of Russian interference in the presidential election.”

The interview with Putin – conducted last week during an economic forum in St. Petersburg – was tense at times, with the Russian calling Kelly’s questions a “load of nonsense”.

“Your lives must be so boring,” if Americans are reduced to making up stories about Russia, he said.

Kelly asked about an episode in which Jared Kushner – the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser – suggested setting up a secret back-channel with the Kremlin before Trump took office.

“I don’t know about this proposal,” Putin said. He added that said such a request would have been reported to him. “You created a sensation out of nothing, you turned it into a weapon of war against the president.” Washington Post