US President Joe Biden says Russian strongman, Vladimir Putin is a “killer with no soul” and vows Russia will “pay a price” for interfering in the US elections.
The Sun reported that President Biden said this during an interview with ABC George Stephanopoulos.
Biden was asked about a US chief intelligence brief that was issued on Tuesday stating that President Vladimir Putin “authorized” and oversaw covert operations aimed at “denigrating Biden’s candidacy.”
However, Biden told Stephanopoulos that he had warned Putin of a potential response during a call in January.
“He will pay a price,” Biden said. “We had a long talk, he and I, when we — I know him relatively well.
“And the conversation started off, I said, ‘I know you and you know me. If I establish this occurred, then be prepared.”
When asked if Biden believes Putin is a killer, the president replied: “Mmm hmm, I do.”
Biden also said that when he told Putin that he does not think he has a soul, the Russian President replied: “We understand each other.”
The document on foreign threats said that Russia also aimed to “denigrate” the Democratic Party, “supporting former President Trump. undermining public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the United States.”
However, “unlike in 2016, we did not see persistent Russian cyber efforts to gain access to election infrastructure,” the report added.
The findings comes after state and federal judges dismissed more than 50 lawsuits presented by then-President Trump and his allies challenging the election or its outcome.
The report noted, however, there are “no indications that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 US elections, including voter registration, casting ballots, vote tabulation, or reporting results.
“We have high confidence in our assessment; Russia state and proxy actors who all serve the Kremlin’s interests worked to affect US public perceptions in a consistent manner.
“A key element of Moscow’s strategy this election cycle was its use of proxies linked to Russian intelligence to push influence narratives – including misleading or unsubstantiated allegations against President Biden – to US media organizations, US officials, and prominent US individuals, including some close to former President Trump and his administration.”
