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Russia Says it Will Scrutinize Mueller's Congressional Testimony


FILE - Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov speaks during a news briefing in the main building of Foreign Ministry in Moscow.
FILE - Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov speaks during a news briefing in the main building of Foreign Ministry in Moscow.

Russian government officials are watching former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's testimony before Congress Wednesday while continuing to deny Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday "We will follow" Mueller's testimony and reiterated "There are no grounds for asserting that Russia tried or is going to meddle [in U.S. elections], as the FBI head said recently," according to Russia's TASS News Agency.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 23, 2019.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 23, 2019.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Tuesday that Moscow set out to also meddle in the 2020 presidential election. The U.S. intelligence community concluded that Russia indeed interfered in the 2016 election with the intent of helping Donald Trump win the presidency.

Ryabkov said Russian officials will "read" Mueller's statements before Congress to "see what he says will differ from what is in the report."

Former special counsel Robert Mueller testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on his report on Russian election interference, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, July 24, 2019.
Former special counsel Robert Mueller testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on his report on Russian election interference, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, July 24, 2019.

Mueller submitted a confidential 448-page report to the Justice Department in March on his two year investigation of President Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election. A redacted version of the report was publicly released in April.

The report said the probe did not uncover sufficient evidence to warrant charges of a criminal conspiracy between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia. But the report also said investigators did not exonerate Trump of trying to obstruct the probe.

Mueller is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee and the House intelligence committee.

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