‘Loss of reputation’: Lawmaker hints at Clinton ‘phobia’ after Russian threat statements

State Duma MP Irina Yarovaya said that Hillary Clinton’s latest allegations that Russia could somehow interfere with US presidential polls could be a publicity stunt or a real phobia, but either way, they severely damage her reputation as a politician.

“Clinton’s panic really raises some questions, but these are only questions about her. It is hard to tell if this was a strange statement, a political stunt performed by a self-doubting candidate or a persistent phobia. But for a candidate in a national presidential election, any inadequacy of assessments becomes a serious blow to their reputation and a hint for the voters to be more wary,” RIA Novosti quoted Yarovaya as saying.

The comment came soon after Hillary Clinton expressed “grave concern” over alleged Russian interference with the US electoral process, urging both Democratic Party allies and Republican opponents to share this concern.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Bloomberg that although he did not know who was behind the US Democratic Party hack, it definitely was not the work of any Russian organization.

Putin added that he considered the content given to the public much more important than the actual group behind the hacking. "There’s no need to distract the public’s attention from the essence of the problem by raising some minor issues connected with the search for who did it," the Russian leader said.

In July, Wikileaks released about 20,000 emails and more than 8,000 attachments from the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Many of the emails indicate that top DNC officials were hostile to the Bernie Sanders campaign and favored Hillary Clinton. The leak eventually prompted the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and several other officials.