Lavrov Points to Democrats' Meddling in 2016 US Election
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Russian foreign minister has commented on the ongoing probe into Moscow's alleged meddling in the US presidential election.
"The facts, that are already known and established, suggest that no Russian link has been found in this affair. There are internal connections there, including within the Democratic party," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang on Wednesday, Sputnik reported.
The Russian foreign minister's statement comes after the Washington Post reported that the Clinton presidential campaign and the DNC were donors for a dossier aimed at discrediting Trump by revealing negative information about his past business dealings. The dossier compiled by Fusion GPS originated due to unknown republican donorship. However, they stepped aside when it became clear that Trump would win the race. After that, the DNC took their place.
Despite the fact that Russia has repeatedly denied accusations of any interference in the US presidential election and called them absurd, the FBI has launched a probe into the issue, with Robert Mueller appointed as a special counsel to lead the investigation.
The claims of alleged Russian meddling have been fueled by a January report by the US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) covering the release by Wikileaks of thousands of Democratic National Committee's emails and other data, including the personal emails of Hillary Clinton's campaign chair John Podesta during the 2016 US election campaign.