Russia’s response to U.S. accusations that it hacked Democratic emails? How flattering
The Obama administration has blamed Russia for the email hacks that have created a chronic headache for Hillary Clinton, the latest batch of which, from campaign Chairman John Podesta’s account, was disclosed Wednesday by Wikileaks.
The Russian response? Show us the proof.
“It’s flattering,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “But it has nothing to be explained by the facts; we have not seen a single proof.”
When Amanpour pressed the point, asking whether the Russians deny the Obama administration’s accusation, Lavrov responded with what seemed like a nondenial denial. Or he just lost himself in translation. It was unclear.
“No, we did not deny this, they did not prove it,” he said.
The White House has warned it will be responding in kind to what it alleges is Russian interference in the U.S. election. “We obviously will ensure that a U.S. response is proportional,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday.
Earnest was vague about what that response might entail, but suggested it could very well be carried out in secret.
“The president has talked before about the significant capabilities that the U.S. government has to both defend our systems in the United States, but also carry out offensive operations in other countries,” Earnest said. “So there are a range of responses that are available to the president, and he will consider a response that’s proportional.”
Asked whether he is concerned, Lavrov waved off the threat.
“It’s not worth speculating,” he said. “If they decided to do something, let them do it.”
