Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned allegations of Russia interfering with the U.S. election as “fictional, illusory, provocations and lies.” He made the comments on Thursday, when speaking at a panel session in the Russian city of Archangel, according to CNN.
When asked directly if Russia helped get Donald Trump elected as president, Putin responded: “Read my lips. No,” according to CNN.
The U.S. House and Senate have launched individual intelligence committees to explore possible ties between Russian officials and members of US President Donald Trump’s campaign team.
The U.S. intelligence community has stated that Putin had ordered an “influence campaign” designed to help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.
Putin has maintained throughout the entire process that he was not involved, but that hasn’t stopped American media organizations from making it one of the most-discussed stories of 2017. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called the allegations a “full-scale witch hunt.”
Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer joked, “If the president puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that’s a Russian connection.”
Former President Obama ordered a full review, before he left office, into hacking aimed at influencing American elections going back to 2008, according to CNN.