H.R. McMaster, President Trump’s national security adviser, said that following the indictments of 13 Russian nationals by special counsel Robert Mueller, evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election is irrefutable.
Speaking at the annual Munich Security Conference on Saturday, he said in response to a question, “with the FBI indictment, the evidence is now incontrovertible,” according to the Associated Press.
McMaster spoke after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who, through an interpreter, dismissed charges of Russian meddling as “just blather” until “we see the facts,” via RT.
Mueller’s team, which is leading the federal investigation on Russian meddling as well as possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, revealed on Friday the indictments of 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities.
The indictment Friday makes no allegations of collusion, saying, “some defendants, posing as U.S. persons and without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump Campaign and with other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities.” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing Mueller’s efforts, also said “there is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.”
Trump, who has long called Mueller’s probe a “witch hunt,” took a triumphant tone after the indictment was announced, reiterating his prior claim that “no collusion” ever happened.
“Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President,” Trump tweeted on Friday. “The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong — no collusion!”
Despite Trump’s assertion that he and his campaign “did nothing wrong,” Mueller’s inquiry is ongoing, and some of his former campaign staff, including campaign manager Paul Manafort, face charges as a result of the investigation.
