Russian President Vladimir Putin when confronted about Russian operatives allegedly meddling in the 2016 election, he casually dismissed it as nothing more than “yelling and hollering” by Washington.
“I have to see first what they’ve done. Give us materials, give us information,” Putin said during an NBC interview with Megyn Kelly.
Kelly asked if Moscow would attempt to file charges against the suspects, to which Putin said he could not “respond to that if they do not violate Russian law.”
In mid-February, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities, unveiling that the Department of Justice had formally recorded a number of times when Russian assets allegedly tried to sway the 2016 presidential election through political ads and social media efforts.
“With all due respect for you personally, with all due respect to Congress, you must have people with legal degrees,” he said. “One-hundred percent you do, and people who are well-educated, who must understand that we, Russia, cannot prosecute anyone if they have not violated Russian law. If you don’t have a legal degree, I can explain to you.”
When Kelly communicated that she did have a law degree, being a former corporate defense attorney, Putin responded, “Then you have to understand what it takes is an official request to the general prosecutor of the Russian Federation. Give us a document. Give us an official request.”
He continued, “This has to go through official channels, not through the press or yelling and hollering in the United States Congress.”
The Department of Justice, however, is only picking up steam. In late February, President Trump’s campaign aide Rick Gates pled guilty to financial fraud and lying to investors. A few days later, multiple US officials found that Russia had reportedly compromised seven states’ voter systems pre-dating the 2016 election. Trump, however, still argues that the Russians didn’t intervene in the election. Watch Kelly and Putin's interview above.
