Putin compares America blaming Russia to 'anti-Semitism and blaming the Jews'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday maintained the Russian government's innocence in the hacking of the U.S. presidential election by arguing that inventing IP addresses is so easy even a kid could do it. IP addresses have been compared to "fingerprints" in the election hacking investigation, leading U.S. investigators to pin Russian state-sponsored hackers for the cybercrimes.

"IP addresses can be invented — a child can do that! Your underage daughter could do that. That is not proof," Putin told NBC News' Megyn Kelly during a roundtable discussion. Kelly's daughter is 6 years old.

At another point in the discussion, Putin likened the U.S. blaming Russia for meddling in the presidential election to "anti-Semitism and blaming the Jews." "A dumb man who can't do anything would blame the Jews for everything," Putin said. For good measure, he added that if the information revealed in the hacks was "true," "was it so important who leaked it?"

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

On Thursday, Putin shifted somewhat from his ardent denial of any Russian involvement whatsoever in the hacking of the U.S. election, conceding that "patriotically minded" Russians may have decided to target America.