Washington. America’s ambassador to the United Nations says there’s no question Russia was involved in the U.S. presidential election and insists President Donald Trump will fully support strong action against the Kremlin once investigations are complete.
In television interviews broadcast Sunday, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said there is no contradiction between her tough stance and Trump’s repeated public statements seeking to minimize Russia’s role. She said Trump “has not once” told her to refrain from “beating up on Russia.”
Haley avoided questions about US interference in other nations elections, including past involvement in Russian elections, instead stating “We don’t want any country involved in our elections, ever,” Haley said. “We need to be very strong on that.”
US President Trump continued his attacks over the weekend, tweeting: “It is the same Fake News Media that said there is ‘no path to victory for Trump’ that is now pushing the phony Russia story. A total scam!” He further added on Sunday, “The real story turns out to be SURVEILLANCE and LEAKING! Find the leakers.”
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin has strongly denied that his country meddled in the 2016 contest between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. While Trump himself has said he believes Russian operatives hacked Democratic Party emails during the election, he has repeatedly lambasted as “fake news” any suggestion that he or his staff had connections to Russia.
US Senator John McCain, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, said it was indisputable that Russia attempted to influence the U.S. election, reiterating his call for a special select committee.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s Kremlin press secretary, said Russia was not worried about what any U.S. investigation might reveal. “We insist that any blaming that Russia could have been interfering in domestic affairs of the United States is slander,” he said.