Member of the US Democratic Party, William Keating, introduced a draft resolution to the US Congress, the text of which states that Russia allegedly “intervened” in the 2016 presidential election, and subsequently tried to shift all the blame for the allegedly committed to Ukraine.
“(Resolution. - RT ) expresses the opinion of the House of Representatives that the Russian Federation interfered in the 2016 presidential election in the United States and deliberately disseminated false information to arouse suspicions about the Republic of Ukraine,” the document reads to RT.
At the same time, it is emphasized that in order to achieve this goal, the Russian Federation allegedly involved intelligence agencies, with the help of which it promoted misinformation.
"The House of Representatives recognizes that misinformation campaigns conducted by Russian intelligence officers are aimed at shifting the blame for interfering in the 2016 elections from Russia to Ukraine," the draft resolution says.
As Keating explains, the House of Representatives believes that Ukraine "is at the forefront of the fight against military aggression and the hostile influence of Russia." In this regard, his document fixes the expression of American congressmen support for Kiev.
It is worth noting that Moscow previously spoke of the existence of specific facts of how the Ukrainian side supported “one of the candidates” for the US presidency in 2016.
“During the election campaign in the United States, the current (in 2016. - RT ) Ukrainian authorities took a unilateral position in support of one of the candidates. And what's more, some oligarchs, with the approval of, probably, the political leadership, financed this candidate or this candidate, to be more precise, ”said Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in 2017.
- Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during the 2016 US presidential race
- © Brian Snyder / Reuters
Recall that for the post of head of the United States in 2016, Hillary Clinton from the Democratic Party and Donald Trump from the Republicans fought.
During the election campaign in the United States, many Ukrainian politicians not only openly expressed their anti-Trump position, but also made harsh remarks about the future American president.
So, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov on Facebook called Trump “a dangerous marginal” who “indulges Putin” and “cannot be the guarantor of democratic freedoms in the United States and the world.” Subsequently, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs deleted his post on the social network.
Avakov’s adviser Anton Gerashchenko emphasized: “The American Constitution does not allow the president to be tyrant. If Trump marries the “red flags” and breaks the law, then he will be impeached. ”
In a similar vein, ex-Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk also spoke out.
“The official presidential candidate of the United States challenges the values of the free world, civilized order and international law. It is hard to call ignorance. This is a crime of ethical and civilizational principles. Americans deserve to have a responsible and smart president and supreme commander, ”he emphasized.
Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, such as Vadim Denisenko, Oleg Lyashko and Mustafa Nayem, even called Trump “a complete idiot who says anything to guess the mood of the crowd”, said that his victory is a disaster, and also hinted at an opportunity to share with USA experience "Maidan."
The authorities in Kiev thus played on the side of Trump's opponents and supported his opponent, Hillary Clinton, political analyst Yuri Svetov emphasized in an interview with RT.
“Of course, in the 2016 campaign, the then Ukrainian authorities played on the side of the Democrats. Their patron at the time was Biden. Naturally, Kiev wanted Clinton to win, then Biden would continue to play a decisive role in American politics, and Ukraine would enjoy this support. Government officials even made indecent statements about Trump. But when he won, they had to “change shoes” on the go, and Trump did not forget that, ”said the expert.
Reason for investigation
The possibility of Ukrainian officials interfering in the election process in the United States is not ruled out in Kiev itself. So, earlier Verkhovna Rada deputy Andrei Derkach published a post on his Facebook page on the court’s decision to oblige the Prosecutor General of Ukraine to resume proceedings in January on the case of possible interference by representatives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) in the US presidential election.
According to the parliamentarian, the "intervention" was carried out "by illegally publishing information against the head of the campaign headquarters of Trump Paul Manafort." This information is doubtful and could be falsified by the employees of the American embassy in Ukraine and NABU, Derkach believes. The agency’s actions, he added, have damaged the country's international image.
In turn, President Vladimir Zelensky also said in October that Kiev should independently investigate whether the country's citizens tried to influence the 2016 US elections. He added that "there is probably a basis for this (investigation. - RT )."
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also mentioned the beginning of an investigation into the possible interference of Ukraine in the presidential race. The head of the State Department made a corresponding statement during a press conference when one of the journalists asked him whether Washington and Kiev should investigate the involvement of Ukraine, and not Russia, for example, in the situation with gaining access to Democrats' email.
“Every time there is information indicating that a country has interfered in the American election, we not only have the right, but we are obliged to investigate it. We must be sure that the American has access to the ballot box in order to cast his ballot, and that these attackers do not undermine our Western democratic values, ”Pompeo emphasized.
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
- © Yuri Gripas / Reuters
Sticks to Trump Wheels
William Keating in his resolution, referring to a number of documents of US intelligence agencies, notes that Russia allegedly pursued the goal of "undermining public confidence in the US democratic processes, denigrating Hillary Clinton."
In addition, the congressman claims that “in 2015, Russia launched a secret campaign of influence aimed at the election of the US president.” The Russian authorities allegedly “hoped to increase Trump’s chances of winning the election, discrediting Clinton and putting her in a bad light.”
At the same time, as the politician notes, the American side has no information regarding the possible interference of Ukraine in the course of the 2016 US presidential campaign.
In its resolution, Keating condemned Moscow’s efforts "to undermine freedom, democracy, the rule of law and free and fair elections."
The topic of Russian "interference" in US policy was raised during a press conference following the talks of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on December 10. According to the Russian Foreign Minister, such rhetoric of American colleagues is groundless.
“Today they again emphasized that all speculations regarding our alleged interference in the internal processes of the USA are groundless. We did not see any facts that would confirm this. Nobody presented them to us, probably simply because they do not exist, ”Lavrov said.
Charges against Moscow have been repeatedly denied by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We initially said that this notorious commission of Mr. (former US special prosecutor Robert. - RT ) Mueller will not find anything, because no one knows this better than us. Russia did not interfere in any elections in the United States. There was no collusion, which Mr. Muller spoke about between Trump and Russia, ”the president emphasized.
According to Stanislav Byshok, executive director of the CIS-EMO monitoring organization, the emergence of new initiatives directed against political opponents on the eve of the next US elections is a standard situation.
“We know that in the United States the House of Representatives is democratic, the Senate is Republican, accordingly, the Democrats are doing everything to put a stick in Trump’s wheels, or, in any case, tarnish his reputation in the context of the election,” the source said.
In his opinion, the tendency to accuse Russia is still relevant, and no one is ready to switch their attention to Ukraine, except for Trump supporters.
“Russia is perceived as a serious big country that can be feared. Ukraine does not make such an impression. In addition, Ukraine, rather, continues to be perceived as a country that needs to be protected from Russia, and which needs to be helped on its path to democratization and Euro-Atlantic choice, ”the expert added.
Political analyst Yuri Svetov, in turn, noted that in the near future new initiatives and statements about “external intervention” can be expected from Washington. However, according to him, all this is only the internal games of the United States.
“On the nose is the start of the presidential campaign. Democrats' hopes that they will be able to discredit Trump do not find proper confirmation. Therefore, they come up with new stories. We should not pay attention to these things - these are US domestic policy games. These casuistic research will continue further, ”Svetov believes.