FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday brushed off conspiracy theories driven by allies of president trump — inclusive of some republican contributors of congress — that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election. Wray said in an interview with ABC  that Russian agents represented the clearest threat in 2016 and the approaching presidential election next 12 months.
“We haven’t had any facts that suggest that Ukraine interfered with the 2016 presidential election,” Wray told ABC.
“As the [2020] election itself is going, we assume Russia represents the most considerable hazard,” he endured. Wray’s remarks come as senators unite together with John Kennedy (r-Los Angeles.) and Ted Cruz (r-texas) have advised that Ukraine might also be worried in efforts on behalf of Hillary Clinton in 2016 during the presidential election, accusations that have been roundly disregarded by means of the intelligence community. The unfounded accusation of supposed Ukrainian election meddling comes as allies of the president have sought to offer causes for trump’s July telephone name with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelinsky, wherein trump regarded to press Zelinsky to open crook investigations into that interference, in addition to former VP Joe Biden (d), a pinnacle 2020 candidate, and his son hunter. Democrats have argued that the decision, which has become the centerpiece of the house’s impeachment inquiry, represented a solicitation without delay from trump for foreign help in a presidential election. Wray’s Monday interview came the identical day the branch of justice’s inspector fashionable released its lengthy-awaited record at the origins of the FBI’s investigations into trump marketing campaign buddies in 2016. Wray told ABC News that it’s far “important that the inspector widespread found that, in this particular instance, the research was opened with appropriate predication and authorization.”
His remarks also got here hours after GOP suggests Stephen castor stated each Russia and Ukraine interfered inside 2016 U. S. Elections in his testimony earlier than the residence judiciary committee.
Sources: The New York Times, The Washington Post