Vladimir Putin To Megyn Kelly: Hackers Might Be Americans Looking to Frame Russia
One day after telling a forum in St. Petersburg the U.S. election hackers might have been “patriotic” Russians, Russian ruler Vladimir Putin informed NBC New’s Megyn Kelly “Hackers can be anywhere. They can be in Russia, in Asia…even in America, Latin America.”
Kelly landed the interview for her maiden voyage as host of NBC’s new Sunday newsmag Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly. A portion of the interview aired Friday night on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.
“They can even be hackers, by the way, in the United States, who very skillfully and professionally, shifted the blame, as we say, on to Russia,” Putin broke to Kelly. “Can you imagine something like that? In the midst of a political battle. By some calculations it was convenient for them to release this information, so they released it, citing Russia. Could you imagine something like that?” he asked rhetorically, adding, “I can” so as to point her in the right direction.
The Russian ruler’s patronizing primer ‘s came a day after he said at an economic forum in St. Petersburg, that the cyber disrupters might have been Russians who decided to meddle simply on behalf of their country.
“They might have read a certain article, and if they are in the patriotic mood, then they start making their contributions the way they see it positive towards the Russian image,” Putin told reporters, as translated by Associated Press.
At the Friday forum moderated by Kelly, Putin compared the U.S. blaming Russia for the hacks to “blaming the Jews.” It’s so easily done, Kelly’s “underage daughter” could have been behind it, Putin said.
Related stories
Vladimir Putin Exhumes JFK Assassination Conspiracy Theory In Megyn Kelly Q&A On Election Tampering
John Oliver: Vladimir Putin "Biggest Threat To U.S. After President Trump"
Oliver Stone's Vladimir Putin Interview Footage Out As Showtime Fires Back At NBC News
Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
