© albertclyde.com/Kevin Dietsch/UPIThe Russians made this sign!
"This is false information. We have no knowledge of the sources of it, or who is reporting it," said the Russian president's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, when asked to comment about a flurry of articles on the issue in US media.
On June 29, a six-page letter by two influential House Republicans, Lamar Smith and Randy Weber, was sent to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, demanding an investigation into "a concerted effort by foreign entities to funnel millions of dollars through various non-profit entities to influence the US energy market." "If you connect the dots, it is clear that Russia is funding US environmental groups in an effort to suppress our domestic oil and gas industry, specifically hydraulic fracking," Smith, the House Science Committee chairman, said earlier this month.
Much of the evidence presented in the letter comes from second-hand sources and claims, such as a statement by former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who told the media in 2014 that the Kremlin "engaged actively" with environmentalists. It also cites a private speech by Hillary Clinton from the same year, in which she railed against "phony environmental groups" opposed to the hydrocarbon extraction technique. Even RT is namechecked after featuring in a previous National Intelligence report, for its allegedly anti-fracking stance, "reflective of the Russian government's concern[s]."
Comment: Just another 'fracking' lie.