- During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana accused former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of interfering with the 2016 election.
- Last week Kennedy walked back comments claiming that Ukraine might have been involved in the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee, but on "Meet the Press" Kennedy said both Russia and Ukraine interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
- Critics of Kennedy's stance have accused GOP politicians of minimizing the threat of Russia's election interference by accusing Ukraine of similar offenses.
- Host Chuck Todd said Kennedy was echoing Putin and suggested he may be doing Trump's "dirty work."
- Read more stories like this on Business Insider.
During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana accused former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of interfering with the 2016 election on behalf of Hillary Clinton. The accusation came just one week after Kennedy walked back comments suggesting that Ukraine, not Russia, had hacked the Democratic National Committee in 2016 — a theory that runs counter to numerous intelligence reports pinning the blame for election interference on Russia.
Last week, Kennedy was interviewed by Fox News' Chris Wallace, where he reiterated a previously debunked conspiracy theory that the Ukrainian government had hacked the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election. US intelligence agencies and state department officials have repeatedly stated that Russia initiated that hack.See the rest of the story at Business Insider NOW WATCH: Extremists turned a frog meme into a hate symbol, but Hong Kong protesters revived it as an emblem of hope See Also: SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about Trump's impeachment process: What's happened, who the players are, and what comes next  |