by Tyler Fransen
According to Russian diplomat Sergei Ryabkov, the campaign of President-elect Donald Trump had contacts to Russian officials during the election season.
Ryabkov explained that Russian Foreign Ministry leaders were in contact with, what Ryabkov referred to as, Trump’s immediate entourage.
“I cannot say that all, but a number of them maintained contacts with Russian representatives,” Ryabkov said.
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry says that it was not in contact with Trump’s campaign staff, but rather his supporters in government, for purposes of talking about issues related to Russia and the U.S.
Trump has also denied any contacts with Russia and has done so throughout his entire campaign, amongst criticism of his apparent admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The practice of U.S. presidential candidates talking to foreign leaders is not entirely uncommon, as evidenced by Secretary Hillary Clinton and Trump’s separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
However, the possible issues with Russia and the election stem from earlier in the year when Russia was accused by U.S. officials of hacking into the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The hacking exposed emails that alleged former DNC Chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, had attempted to portray former Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders, as unelectable, in a possible attempt to give Clinton an advantage.
Another cause for concern with Russia is the issue of Putin and his presidency. Many, including Human Rights Watch, have accused Putin of being an oppressive regime, that attempts to subvert any criticism of the government. The Russians have also been accused of violating the rights of members of the LGBT community, for its laws against homosexuality.
In terms of how this may affect the results of the election remains to be determined. The U.S. hopes that no outside entity ever tries to interfere with their elections, but if the accusations of Russian officials hacking into the DNC prove to be true, it could create problems for the Trump administration if the accusations of Trump campaign staff talking with Russia proves true as well.
