Just a day after touting President Trump’s DNC-Ukraine conspiracy theory during an interview with Fox News host Chris Wallace, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) retracted his claim.
During an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo Monday night, Kennedy walked back the conspiracy theory that accuses Ukraine of hacking the DNC’s email. Last week, former NSC senior director Fiona Hill told the House Intelligence Committee during her public testimony that the conspiracy theory was a “fictional narrative that has been perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services themselves.”
When Cuomo asked Kennedy if he “really believes it wasn’t Russia,” Kennedy admitted that he was “wrong.”
“I was wrong,” Kennedy said. “It was Russia who tried to hack the [Democratic National Committee] computer. I’ve seen no indication that Ukraine tried to do it.”
Kennedy also claimed that he misheard Wallace when asked whether it was Russia or Ukraine who was responsible for hacking the DNC and the Clinton email computers.
“I was answering one of his questions, and he interjected with a statement and asked me to react to it,” Kennedy said. “What I heard Chris say was only Russia tried to interfere in the election, and I answered the question. That’s not what he said.”
Watch Kennedy’s remarks below:
Sen. Kennedy walks back DNC-Ukraine conspiracy: "I was wrong" pic.twitter.com/dWJneVPKNU
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 26, 2019