A Russian diplomat has stated that Morgan Freeman was ‘roped in’ to appearing in a video criticizing alleged Russian interference in the 2016 United States Presidential Election.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote in a Facebook post translated by TASS Russian News Agency: ‘Morgan Freeman has been roped in, just like Colin Powell.’
The headline from the Russian government-controlled agency further alleged that Freeman has been ‘weaponized’ against Russia.
Zakharova goes on to discuss a 2003 incident in which then-Secretary of State Colin Powell presented a tube filled with white powder to the United Nations Security Council amid the United States push to invade Iraq.
She wrote: ‘We will know who is behind this story sooner than we knew about the true contents of the infamous test tube.’
Pictured is a grab from a video in which Morgan Freeman discusses Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election. In the video, he paints a very unflattering portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin
Freeman paints a damning portrait of Putin, characterizing him as an ex-KGB spy driven by ‘revenge’ to once again make Russian an authoritarian state and to attack the United States
She also discussed the recent revelation that former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who is currently the subject of multiple federal federal investigations, was wiretapped by the Obama administration.
Citing this revelation, she wrote: ‘The goal is to legitimize the post-election lawlessness.’
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, also criticizing the video, told The Telegraph: ‘This can hardly be taken seriously.’
He added: ‘[Many performing artists] become victims of an emotionally charged, self-exalted status, an extension of some sort of McCarthyism, I would say. It fades away over time.’
The comments come after Morgan Freeman appeared in a video for the Committee to Investigate Russia, which is ‘a nonprofit, non-partisan resource provided to help Americans recognize and understand the gravity of Russia’s continuing attacks on our democracy,’ according to its website.
The two-minute video uploaded to YouTube on September 18 shows the Oscar winner discussing Vladimir Putin and Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In his iconic voice, he begins: ‘We have been attacked. We are at war.’
He discusses an ‘imagined movie script’ about an ex-KGB spy who seeks ‘revenge.’
Building the story of this agent who seeks to reintroduce authoritarianism in the former USSR and then attacking the United States, Freeman reveals this seeming fiction to be Vladimir Putin, the current President of Russia.
After learning of Freeman’s involvement in the video, which was produced by the newly-formed Committee to Investigate Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (pictured) wrote in a Facebook post: ‘Morgan Freeman has been roped in’
Pictured is a meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany this past July between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Questions of whether, how and to what extent Russia interfered in hte 2016 United States presidential election have plagued the Trump administration since its inauguration
Freeman states: ‘For 241 years our democracy has been a shining example to the world of what we can all aspire to.
Pictured is Colin Powell holding a vial of white powder while addressing the United Nations Security Council in 2003. Zakharova cited in incident in her Facebook post about Freeman
‘And we owe it to the brave people who have fought and died to protect this great nation and save democracy.
‘And we owe it to our future generations to continue the fight.’
The Committee to Investigate Russia was formed on Tuesday by a non-partisan coalition that includes military historian Max Boot, conservative commentator Charles Sykes and film director Rob Reiner.
In introducing the group, Reiner said: ‘This isn’t about politics. This is about ensuring the Russians cannot wage war on us without Americans knowing about it and making sure our elected leaders do something about it.’
The questions of whether, how and to what extent Russia interfered in the election, in which Trump lost the popular vote but won the electoral college against Hillary Clinton, have plagued the Trump administration since it was inaugurated in January 2017.
Recent developments in the situation include Jon Huntsman, the president’s nominee for ambassador to Russia, saying there’s ‘no question’ that the Kremlin was behind a plot last year to meddle in the presidential election.
The Committee to Investigate Russia was formed on Tuesday as ‘a nonprofit, non-partisan resource provided to help Americans recognize and understand the gravity of Russia’s continuing attacks on our democracy’
The moderate Republican who served as Barack Obama’s ambassador to China made the assertion during confirmation testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
It put him at odds with President Trump’s position on election interference. Trump has said it could have been Russia, ‘nobody really knows for sure.’
And embattled former Donald Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort offered to provide ‘private briefings’ to a Russian oligarch during the campaign.
Manafort’s offer was contained in a July 7, 2016 email he sent to an intermediary shortly before President Trump accepted the Republican Party nomination.
In it, he asked that the person get a message to Russia aluminum magnate and former business partner Oleg Deripaska.
‘If he needs private briefings we can accommodate,’ Manafort wrote.
The timing of the email, which a source read to the Washington Post, is certain to interest investigators.
Donald Trump Jr. engaged in a series of emails with a British music publicist beginning June 7 that culminated in a meeting at Trump Tower with a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer.