Putin: I had no idea who Flynn was

Russian President Vladimir Putin claims he wasn’t aware of Michael Flynn, who went on to become President Trump’s national security adviser, at a 2015 dinner in Moscow — despite this photo showing the two men sitting next to each other at the event.

“I made my speech. Then we talked about some other stuff. And I got up and left. And then afterwards I was told, ‘You know, there was an American gentleman, he was involved in some things. He used to be in the security services,’ ” Putin told Megyn Kelly in the former Fox News star’s debut on NBC Sunday night.

“That’s it. I didn’t even really talk to him. That’s the extent of my acquaintance with Mr. Flynn,” Putin said.

Flynn, ousted in February for hiding his contacts with Russia’s US ambassador from White House officials, was paid $45,000 to speak at the dinner celebrating Russia Today, a Kremlin-financed TV network that American intelligence agencies consider a Kremlin propaganda arm.

Putin again denied meddling in the 2016 presidential election and peddled the conspiracy theory that it was really the work of the US intelligence community.

“There’s a theory that Kennedy’s assassination was arranged by the United States intel- ligence services,” Putin said. “So if this theory is correct and that can’t be ruled out, then what could be easier in this day and age.”

Kelly also pressed Putin on whether he has embarrassing dirt on President Trump.

“This is just another load of nonsense,” Putin said. “Where would we get this information from? Why, did we have some special relationship with him? We didn’t have any relationship at all. There was a time when he used to come to Moscow.”

He accused the US media of sensationalizing information and using it as a “weapon of war” against Trump.