Russian President Vladimir Putin suspects that FBI officials “drugged” a key witness in the scandal that led to his country’s ban from the 2018 Winter Games, he told reporters Thursday.
“What are they doing with him?” Putin said of the FBI. “What drugs are they giving him to make him say what they want him to say? This is just ridiculous.”
The International Olympic Committee banned Russia from the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea, a decision Putin has blamed repeatedly on western attempts to embarrass him in the run-up to the next election. The ban was based in large part on evidence provided by Grigory Rodchenkov, a former anti-doping official who provided evidence that Russian government officials were complicit in a broad effort to help national team athletes cheat in the run-up to the 2014 Sochi Games.
“I am sorry, but that is just nonsense,” Putin said. “Regarding him being protected by the FBI, this is not an advantage but rather a disadvantage for us, since this means that his actions are controlled by the U.S. intelligence services.”
Rodchenkov’s lawyer maintains that Russia is still trying to cover up the scandal. “Russia’s consistent denials lack any credibility, and its failure to produce all evidence in its possession only further confirms its high-level complicity,” attorney Jim Walden said when the ban was handed down in December.
Putin maintained that the IOC has been “intimidated” by the United States, which he has accused of using the scandal to retaliate against Russian cyberattacks against the Democratic party in the 2016 elections.
“They are under pressure all the time and are even intimidated,” he said. “No matter what they say after hearing my words, this is the way it is.”
