Putin insists reports of Russian election meddling are 'lies'

Russian President Vladimir Putin maintained reports of Russia's election meddling "are fictional, illusory, and provocations, lies" during a panel Thursday moderated by CNBC. When asked explicitly if Russia interfered — as U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded it has — Putin dismissed the allegations as falsehoods used for "domestic American politics" that "different political forces" employ to "consolidate their positions."
"'Watch my lips: No,'" said Putin, paraphrasing former President George H.W. Bush to assert his denial. Putin insisted Russia sees the U.S. "as a great power with which we want to establish good partnership relations."
As Putin doubled down on his dissent, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee convened Thursday morning for its first public hearing on Russia's influence on the U.S. presidential election. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) outlined how Russia "sought to diminish and undermine our trust in the American media by blurring our faith in what is true and what is not" by inserting trolls and botnets to push out false information intended to influence the election outcome.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"This is not innuendo, or false allegations. This is not fake news. This is actually what happened to us," said Warner, outright declaring that Putin "ordered a deliberate campaign, carefully constructed to undermine our election."
At the hearing Thursday, the Senate seeks to "determine if there is an actual fire." "But so far, there is a great, great deal of smoke," Warner said, referring to evidence of Russian meddling.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot