Kremlin shrugs off election interference charges

WASHINGTON—The Kremlin on Monday said U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller’s recent charges against Russian nationals for interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election don’t prove the government’s involvement. On Friday, Mueller announced the indictments of 13 Russians and three Russian companies for meddling in the election, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that doesn’t mean the Kremlin took part. “There are no indications that the Russian state could have been involved in this, and nor can there be any,” he said, according to Reuters. “Russia did not meddle, does not have the habit of meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, and is not doing so now.” The Kremlin has repeatedly denied claims it orchestrated attempts to influence the U.S. election. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump claimed the new indictments prove his campaign never colluded with Russians to rig the elections since Mueller indicated the effort began in 2014, more than a year before he decided to run for president. The president tweeted Saturday that Russia is laughing at the United States: “If it was the GOAL of Russia to create discord, disruption and chaos within the U.S. then, with all of the Committee Hearings, Investigations and Party hatred, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.”