Nancy Pelosi says Putin's fear of Hillary Clinton made him 'ensure in an illegal way' that she lost in 2016

On Monday, failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at an event at Columbia University in New York and said Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered in the 2016 election because he "feared" Hillary Clinton.

Pelosi said, "It was her clarity and position to the President Putin, president, occupant, leader of Russia that made him turn around and ensure in a illegal way—come out against her in her campaign. An interference in our democracy by Vladimir Putin, because Hillary Clinton was the person he feared most in terms of his lack of democracy in Russia. That's, I think, self-evidence, and thank you for what you have done."

Pelosi had said earlier, "When Secretary Clinton was in the Senate and First Lady, but especially as Secretary of State, and more recent time, um,  she was—she has been, and at that time—implemented many things showing America's support for democracy."

According to the event's website, "Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi" was joining Clinton, who works at Columbia as the Professor of the Practice of International and Public Affairs, for a "conversation on global politics, national security, and the backsliding of democracy."

Pelosi's comments on Putin's "interference" invoke the debunked Russia collusion hoax that was spread after Donald Trump beat the former senator and secretary of state for president.

The Federal Election Commission fined both Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee for lying about the funding of the so-called Steele dossier, a dubious document generated by Christopher Steele, a former MI6 agent, that supposedly linked the Trump campaign to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. 

Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed to investigate the matter, found no connection between Trump and Russia. He took over after the FBI began its investigation, called Crossfire Hurricane.

In May 2019 then Attorney General William Barr appointed Special Counsel John Durham to investigate the origins of Crossfire Hurricane, which was the FBI investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Michael Sussman was a lawyer who had connections with Hillary Clinton's campaign and was accused of lying about Trump connections with a Russian bank. He was indicted for lying to the FBI but was acquitted in 2022.