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The Kremlin has responded cautiously to the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation that found no evidence of a conspiracy by Donald Trump‘s presidential campaign to help Russia interfere in the 2016 U.S. election.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday he couldn’t comment on Mueller’s findings since no one had seen the report in full, and he denied again that Russia had meddled in 2016.
“We haven’t seen the report itself,” Peskov said in a daily briefing call with reporters. “We have seen a certain condensed version, a summary, which, moreover, tells nothing new, except the acknowledgment of the absence of any conspiracy.”
Reiterating Russia’s long-standing blanket denial that it had interfered in the 2016 election, Peskov said of Mueller’s investigation, “It’s hard to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if it’s not there.”
Attorney General William Barr on Sunday released a summary of the key findings of Mueller’s 22-month investigation into Russia’s effort to influence the 2016 election. In a letter to Congress, Barr quoted from Mueller’s own report that the special counsel had found no evidence that Trump or anyone associated with his campaign had conspired with Russia, “despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.”
Peskov rejected that Russia had sought to aid Trump or meddled in 2016 in any way. He also rejected Mueller’s finding that Moscow mounted a two-pronged influence operation targeting American social media and an hacking attack that stole and then leaked documents from the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Other Russian officials’ reactions were far more strident, however.
Russia’s foreign ministry criticized Mueller’s investigation in a Monday statement as a waste of time and resources, and said the accusation of Russian interference was an “obvious fake.”
Alexei Pushkov, head of the Russian Senate’s information committee, wrote on Twitter, “The results of Mueller’s investigation are a disgrace for the U.S. and its political elites.”
(Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Special counsel Robert Mueller walks with his wife Ann Mueller, March 24, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Mueller has delivered his report on alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election to Attorney General William Barr. Mueller’s investigation saw 34 people charged, among them six Trump aides and advisers. Twenty-five Russians, many of them military intelligence officers, were indicted for their role in the hack of Democratic party institutions, or for taking part in the social media campaign. In those indictments, Mueller laid out how the Russia’s intelligence services and a so-called “troll factory” in Saint Petersburg had sought to influence the U.S. electorate.
Russian officials and state media for two years have insisted the accusations of election meddling are fantasies invented by the Democrats to be used as a pretext to sanction Moscow.
On Monday, the Russian foreign ministry also attacked the Obama administration, accusing it of trying “to discredit Trump” in 2016 by making “unfounded accusations of ‘hacking attacks.'”
The Obama administration in 2016 agonized over how to make Russia’s election operations public, former administration officials have since said. In the end, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National intelligence released a joint statement in October 2016 noting the Russian efforts, but leaving out whether the Russians had sought to help a particular candidate.
With Mueller’s investigation over, some Russian lawmakers said they now hoped Trump would be able to improve relations with Russia, but most expressed doubts.
“There is a chance to reset much in our relations, but whether Trump will risk it remains an open question. We, obviously, are ready,” politician Konstantin Kosachev wrote in a Facebook post, adding he hoped Trump would use the moment to begin negotiations on two key arms agreements, the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces and the START treaties.
But Kosachev wrote he doubted U.S. attitudes towards Russia or the enthusiasm for fresh sanctions against Russia would be changed much by the end of the Mueller inquiry.
Maria Lipman, a veteran Russian journalist and editor of the Counterpoint journal, agreed.
“The antagonism between Russia and the U.S. has become so deep that I don’t think there can be any improvement. I don’t think we should expect any change,” she said.
