Russian President Vladimir Putin has a message for the Department of Justice: We didn't do it.
The leader definitively slammed accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election — and any election — during a press conference alongside President Trump, following the two men's closed-door meeting Monday. Russia "has never interfered and is not going to interfere into internal American affairs, including election processes," Putin claimed.
That's a slightly different message than the U.S. delivered Friday, when Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe indicted 12 Russian agents on charges related to interference in the election. Trump barely mentioned the charges before Monday's meeting, but revealed during the press conference that the two leaders did at least bring up the subject. Putin apparently "feels very strongly" about election meddling and has an "interesting idea" about it, Trump said.
Subscribe to 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.
Putin and Trump went on to question interference allegations as the conference continued. Putin welcomed Mueller's team to witness Russia's own interrogations of interference suspects, while Trump maintained his ongoing denial of any collusion, notably refusing to caution Putin against potential future interference because he "doesn't see any reason why" Russia would've meddled in the 2016 election anyway.
-
Israel: Losing the American publicFeature A recent poll finds American support for Israel's military action in Gaza has fallen from 50% to 32%
-
Unmaking AmericansFeature Trump is threatening to revoke the citizenship of foreign-born Americans. Could he do that?
-
EPA: A bonfire of climate change regulationsFeature The Environmental Protection Agency wants to roll back its 'endangerment finding,' a ruling that lets the agency regulate carbon emissions
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crimeSpeed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monumentsSpeed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seatspeed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring pushSpeed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additionsSpeed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein filesSpeed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oilSpeed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymanderSpeed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
