WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the ongoing investigations into Russia interference in the 2016 election (all times local):
2:20 p.m.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin says the allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election are “fiction” invented by the Democrats in order to explain their loss.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Putin reaffirmed his strong denial of Russian involvement in the hacking of Democratic emails. The interview was recorded during Putin’s Monday trip to Paris and released Tuesday.
He said the claims of Russian meddling are driven by the “desire of those who lost the U.S. elections to improve their standing by accusing Russia of interfering.”
Putin added that the “people who lost the vote hate to acknowledge that they indeed lost because the person who won was closer to the people and had a better understanding of what people wanted.”
Trump made a similar claim in a tweet early Tuesday.
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1:20 p.m.
A House intelligence committee staffer says the panel recently issued a subpoena to President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, as part of its ongoing investigation into Russia’s election meddling.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal committee matters.
Cohen is a former Trump Organization executive who served as a cable television surrogate for the Republican during the presidential campaign.
He told ABC News that he has been asked by both the House and Senate intelligence committees to provide information and testimony about contacts he had with Russian officials. Cohen told ABC he turned down the invitations.
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7:27 a.m.
President Donald Trump says Russian officials “must be laughing at the U.S.”
U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Moscow tried to meddle in the 2016 presidential election by hacking Democratic emails. A special counsel is now investing whether Trump’s associates may have colluded with Russia during the campaign.
Trump tweeted Tuesday: “Russian officials must be laughing at the U.S. & how a lame excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News.”