Kremlin dismisses Mueller indictments: No ‘significant evidence’ of Russian meddling

The Kremlin on Monday dismissed U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller’s charges of interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the indictments issued against 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies did not have any proof that the Russian state was engaged in interference activities, according to a report by Reuters.

The statement is the first remarks from Moscow since the indictments were issued last Friday.

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Mueller on Friday issued the charges alleging that the Russians created false U.S. personas and stole the identities of real Americans in order to interfere with the 2016 election, an assessment that had previously been reached by U.S. intelligence agencies.

Peskov said that the indictment focuses on Russian individuals and not the state, saying that there is no proof that the Kremlin or Russian government agencies were involved in any meddling efforts.

“First, as before, we do not see any significant evidence that someone interferes in the internal affairs of the U.S. Second, we are talking about Russian citizens, but we heard from Washington accusations about the involvement of the Russian state, the Kremlin, and the Russian government. There are no indications that the Russian state could have any involvement in this — and there can’t be,” Peskov said.

Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations Russia tried to influence the 2016 election.

President Trump expressed his anger with the Russia investigation late Saturday night and Sunday morning, declaring that “they are laughing their asses off in Moscow” over the ongoing probe into Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election.

“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,” Trump tweeted Sunday morning. “They are laughing their asses off in Moscow. Get smart America!”

Trump has long dismissed the notion that he received help in defeating his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, and has resisted calls from members of both political parties to do more to disrupt Russia’s possible plans to meddle in future U.S. elections.

The president has not criticized Russia for its election meddling, opting to focus on the ways he believes Mueller’s indictment exonerates his campaign from accusations of colluding with the Kremlin.