Putin Denies Interference in US Elections and Existence of 'Evidence' Regarding Trump

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, denied interference in the US electoral process and rumors about the existence of 'controversial evidence' regarding Donald Trump in an interview with NBC. The interview aired on June 4, and his conversation with the host was translated from Russian to English. The Russian President stated that reports suggesting Moscow possesses damaging evidence about the US President are 'just another bunch of baseless words... Where would we have gotten this evidence from?'. He reiterated that his government had no need to interfere in the presidential elections, a charge leveled against Russia by US intelligence leaders during a congressional meeting last January. They stated that Russian 'cyber attacks' pose a 'significant threat' to the United States and that Moscow undoubtedly interfered in the US presidential elections. Putin, who has been either Prime Minister or President of the Russian Federation since 1999, said, 'We don't even need to do this. Presidents come and go, even parties in power change, but the main course of politics does not change.' He also accused the United States of interfering in other countries' elections: 'Put your finger on the world map wherever you want; wherever you see protests regarding the interference of American officials in the internal elections [of a country].' He emphasized that he has 'no special relationship' with Mr. Trump. Referring to the time when Donald Trump was engaged in business, he said, 'At one time he came to Moscow. But you know, I never met him. Many Americans visit us.' The Russian President stated that he had very little relationship with Michael Flynn, the former National Security Advisor to the US President. Flynn had once spoken for Russian state television, for which he was paid, and was seen in a photo at a dinner next to Vladimir Putin. He and some of Trump's campaign advisors are currently under investigation by federal agencies regarding their relationships and have been summoned by congressional committees to answer questions. Regarding the dinner where he was seen next to Michael Flynn, Putin said he spent a few hours at the same table with Flynn after the speech, had a brief conversation 'on various issues,' and then left the party: 'That's it. I didn't actually say anything specific to him.' Flynn was effectively dismissed from his position in February after admitting to giving 'misleading information' to Trump's Vice President about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. In the NBC interview, Putin denied reports from several American media outlets regarding a proposal to Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a key advisor, to create a secret communication channel with the Kremlin: 'I have no information about this proposal. No such proposal has been made to me.' In another part of the interview, in response to questions about 'corruption' and pressures on government critics, he said, 'Why do you think you have the right to ask us such questions? And keep asking it again? Do you want to teach us a lesson in life?' Two days before this interview, during a meeting with international media editors, he denied his government's involvement in cyber attacks on political campaigns and elections outside of Russia, while also stating that some Russian hackers might have acted 'out of patriotism.'