Advertisement

Russian state TV accuses January 6 investigation of ‘lynching Trump’

Russian state TV has hammered the ongoing 6 January investigation in Congress, calling it a “step towards dictatorship.”

On Friday, Vladimir Solovyov, host of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, criticised the process, which began a series of televised hearings last week.

“Look at what’s going on in America,” the host said, according to a translation from Daily Beast Russia analyst Julia Davis. “A criminal prosecution against Trump and his followers is an obvious step towards dictatorship.”

Guests on the show seemed to see the hearings as a problem for Russia, since they damaged the chance a more Russia-friendly Trump administration returning to power.

“The most crucial point is as follows: we need to understand what’s going to happen in the electoral sense. The internal political component is extremely significant,” said Dmitry Abzalov, Director fo the Center for Strategic Communications. “The most important events on our political calendar are local elections in Great Britain as well as a very difficult situation in July and August, since the midterms in the US actually start during summer months. Every Thursday they’ll be lynching Trump in prime time.”

So far, the 6 January hearings have aired a number of embarrassing revelations about the former president, including that he was warned by advisers his election fraud claims were bogus, and that his political action committee convinced supporters to donate millions to a non-existent election defence programme.

On another show, Vesti, the discussion also focused on the hearings.

“The hearings on prime time TV are a real show, organized by Trump’s enemies on the committee investigating the events of January 6th,” reporter Denis Davydoc said. “Almost one thousand participants in the storming of the Capitol have been criminally charged, many of the have been convicted. As far as the Democrats are concerned, the main culprit is yet to be punished: Donald Trump. Therefore, the show must go on.”

The broadcast then aired clips of conservatives like House minority leader Kevin McCarthy and Fox News host Tucker Carlson criticising the 6 January investigation.

The Russian media has long taken an interest in Donald Trump. This April, some on state TV spoke of their desire to see their “partner” back in the White House.

However, this year, a state TV host also lashed out at the former president, accusing his Make America Great Again movement of being a “cult” in response to a US op-ed calling Russia fascist.