Russia Rejects CIA Head's Assertion It's Meddling In U.S. Congressional Elections
Russian officials on January 8 rejected an accusation by U.S. CIA Director Mike Pompeo that Russia is attempting to interfere in U.S. congressional elections this year and has been meddling in U.S. elections "for decades."
"I continue to be concerned, not only about the Russians, but about others' efforts as well," Pompeo told CBS on January 7, without giving details. "We have many foes who want to undermine Western democracy."
Pompeo said that the Central Intelligence Agency has an important role in ensuring U.S. elections are secure and democratic.
"We are working diligently to do that. So we're going to work against the Russians or any others who threaten that very outcome," he told CBS.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov responded to Pompeo on January 8 in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax, saying Russia is not trying to interfere in this year's congressional elections, which will be held in November.
Washington analysts say that this year's election could determine whether U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican party continues to control Congress, amid plummeting ratings for both Congress and Trump in public opinion polls.
"We did not meddle and will never meddle into domestic affairs of other countries, " Ryabkov was quoted as saying.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also on January 8 said Pompeo was lying about alleged Russian meddling.
Writing on her Facebook page, Zakharova asserted that CIA complaints about Russian interference in U.S. elections began only after Trump was elected in November 2016.
A landmark report from the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies in January 2017 was the first to publicly assert that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election, but the FBI and other U.S. intelligence services began investigating allegations of Russian meddling months before the election.
