Putin: Russia will 'never' extradite 13 nationals indicted by Mueller
Russia will “never” extradite any of its 13 nationals indicted last month by special counsel Robert Mueller for interfering in the 2016 US election, Vladimir Putin said, even as he insisted they did not act on behalf of his government.
Putin spoke in a second interview with Megyn Kelly of NBC, due to air in the US on Sunday and trailed extensively this week. Kelly, formerly of Fox News, first interviewed the Russian president in June 2017.
In that interview, the Russian president denied that his government holds any compromising material on Donald Trump. The existence or not of such “kompromat” is one strand of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference, which US intelligence agencies agree aimed to sway the election in Trump’s favour.
Mueller is also looking into alleged collusion between Trump aides and Moscow and has indicted four former staffers: national security adviser Michael Flynn, foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, campaign manager Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates.
Flynn, Papadopoulos and Gates have entered plea deals in return for cooperation. Manafort maintains his innocence on charges including money laundering and tax and bank fraud. Trump has denied any collusion between his aides and the Kremlin, calling the investigations a “witch hunt”.
Mueller indicted the 13 Russians last month, alleging they “communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign”.
Putin spoke in a second interview with Megyn Kelly of NBC, due to air in the US on Sunday and trailed extensively this week. Kelly, formerly of Fox News, first interviewed the Russian president in June 2017.
In that interview, the Russian president denied that his government holds any compromising material on Donald Trump. The existence or not of such “kompromat” is one strand of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference, which US intelligence agencies agree aimed to sway the election in Trump’s favour.
Mueller is also looking into alleged collusion between Trump aides and Moscow and has indicted four former staffers: national security adviser Michael Flynn, foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, campaign manager Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates.
Flynn, Papadopoulos and Gates have entered plea deals in return for cooperation. Manafort maintains his innocence on charges including money laundering and tax and bank fraud. Trump has denied any collusion between his aides and the Kremlin, calling the investigations a “witch hunt”.
Mueller indicted the 13 Russians last month, alleging they “communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign”.
Source: theguardian
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