Search for Evidence of Russian 'Influence' on US 'Pouring Money Down the Drain'

The US Congress is wasting money by searching for evidence of Russia's alleged influence over the recent US election and taking measures to counter Russia’s hidden impact, Victor Ozerov, the chairman of the Russian upper house of parliament’s committee on defense and security, told Sputnik on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives approved the creation of a special committee to counter "covert influence’’ exerted by Russia. The committee is set to hold regular meetings to discuss measures of resisting Russian influence, which include "covert broadcasting, media manipulation, disinformation, incitement and offensive counterintelligence."

"As far as I understand, US lawmakers have nowhere to spend their money once they do this [set up a committee to counter Russian influence]. That's their business, of course, but as for me — it's pouring money down the drain," Ozerov said.

Ozerov added that Russia had repeatedly refuted all allegations about interfering in other countries’ affairs.

During his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia did not meddle in the affairs of other states and, at the same time, would not allow any foreign attempts to influence what is happening in Russia, Ozerov stressed. This applies to foreign-backed non-profit organizations, the lawmaker added.

Russian-based media outlets broadcasting in Europe and the United States have been facing a barrage of accusations by Western officials about allegedly spreading fake news and attempting to influence public opinion. In the United States, intelligence agencies have claimed Russia had used its media outlets to sway the outcome of the US November 2016 presidential election in favor of Donald Trump but have not provided any evidence to back their claims.

Russian officials, including Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, have repeatedly stated that Moscow does not meddle in the internal affairs of other countries.