Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the Russian government has never been involved in hacking, after months of accusations that Russia tried to tip the election to Donald Trump by breaking into and leaking emails from Democrats.
“We don’t engage in that at the state level,” Putin said during a meeting with international news agencies, according to the Associated Press.
Though he denied the Russian state had been involved in hacking, Putin said individual “patriotic” hackers could mount their own attacks.
The Russian president said, “No hackers can influence election campaigns in any country of Europe, Asia, or America.”
Despite Putin’s denial, U.S. intelligence agencies believe someone in Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee and an email account belonging to John Podesta. Intelligence officials believe the accounts were hacked in an effort to influence the 2016 election.
