Putin drops bombshell on Megyn Kelly about election meddling

Putin also trashed the notion that Russia has been doing the same, meddling in foreign elections, because he says his country does not have any motive to do so. “Even if we wanted to, it wouldn’t make any sense for us to interfere,” Putin explained. He suggested that the “political direction” in the United States had been decided by actors who did not include the elected president. “It wouldn’t make sense for us to interfere,” he said.

The Russian leader accused the US of meddling not only in Russia but also in most other countries: “Put your finger anywhere on a map of the world, and everywhere you will hear complaints that American officials are interfering in internal electoral processes,” he said. “I repeat, we don’t even have to do that. Presidents come and go, and even the parties in power change, but the main political direction does not change.”

The bombshell of the interview was Putin’s hint that the Deep State, who may have been behind the Kennedy assassination according to the Russian president, is now working behind scenes in an attempt to topple Trump and launch a false flag attack to start war with Russia:

“There is a theory that Kennedy’s assassination was arranged by the United States intelligence services. So if this theory is correct, and that can’t be ruled out, then what could be easier in this day and age than using all the technical means at the disposal of the intelligence services and using those means to organize some attacks, and then pointing the finger at Russia.”

He desribed it as “nonsense” to say Russia has collected compromising material about Trump or other American business leaders visiting Russia. Many CEOs of major US companies come to Russia, he said. “Do you think we’re gathering dirt on all of them right now or something?” Putin asked, adding: “Have you all lost your mind?”

The Russian President denied that he had met Donald Trump during his business trips to Russia and said that he was unaware of any proposal from Jared Kushner to set up an alleged “secret line” of communications between the Trump administration and the Russian government.

“I am not aware of such a proposal,” Putin said referring to Kushner’s alleged proposal. “No such proposal ever reached me.”

Two anti-Trump newspapers, the New York Times and Washington Post had reported that Kushner discussed the idea of creating a secret channel to discuss the crisis in Syria, with Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak in December, the line was never established, according to a source cited by Bloomberg.

But Putin said Russia had no channels of communication with the campaigns of either Trump or Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, although there may have been official contacts, which he called a “standard diplomatic practice”.

The Russian president said he has never met Trump, including during a visit by Trump to Moscow for the 2013 Miss Universe pageant, and called the alleged existence of a secret Russian dossier on Trump “just another piece of nonsense”.

“There was no relationship whatsoever. Yes, he visited Moscow in his day. But, you know, I never met him,” Putin says, according to transcript.

Putin also said that he’s not aware of any meetings between Kislyak and officials from the Trump campaign, and called the allegations “domestic political squabbles” by Trump’s opponents.

“Well, this is just another load of nonsense,” Putin responded when asked about Kislyak meeting Trump campaign officials. “Because if there had been something meaningful, he would have made a report to the minister, and the minister would have made a report to me. There weren’t even any reports” the Russian president said according to Bloomberg.

He told Kelly on Friday, that he barely interacted with Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, during a dinner in Moscow in 2015 when they were seated together. Flynn, had been paid to speak at the anniversary gala for the Russia Today television network.

“You and I personally have a much closer relationship than I had with Mr Flynn…. When I came to the event for our for our company, Russia Today, and sat down at the table, next to me there was a gentleman sitting on one side. I made my speech. Then we talked about some other stuff. And I got up and left… afterwards I was told, ‘You know there was an American gentleman, he was involved in some things. He used to be in the security services.’ ….That’s the extent of my acquaintance with Mr Flynn.”

Asked whether all 17 US intelligence agencies that concluded Russia interfered with the election are lying, Putin answered “they have been misled” and said he has not seen “any direct proof of Russia’s interference”.

“What fingerprints or hoot-prints or horn-prints, what are you talking about,” Putin said and suggested that even former President Barack Obama “started having doubts” when they spoke about it on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru in November, after Trump’s election victory.