Rep. Smith: Russians Deny Election Meddling, 'Just A Few Hackers'

COLTS NECK, NJ — Rep. Chris Smith, the Republican Congressman who represents New Jersey's fourth congressional district (which includes much of Monmouth and Ocean counties, and a sliver of Mercer), said that high-ranking members of the Russian parliament told him the Russian government had no part in U.S. election meddling.

Smith brought up the topic of election meddling at a human rights meeting last week with the Russian delegation. This comes nine days before President Trump is supposed to meet with Putin in Helsinki later this week.

Smith said he specifically asked the Russian delegation about Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential race.

"They said it was just a few Russian hackers, that it wasn’t government supported,’’ Smith said, according to the Asbury Park Press.

“I said I thought that wasn’t the case,’’ Smith said he replied, referencing U.S. intelligence that the hacking went all the way to the top of Russian government. “We had a difference of opinion on that.’’

In fact, the Russian delegation said “you could count on both hands and one foot’’ the number of hackers who meddled in the election, Smith said, according to the APP.

An Asbury Park Press reporter then asked Smith if the Russians knew that anyone in the official Trump campaign was involved. Smith responded, “absolutely not.’’

The meeting was organized to discuss a number of human rights topics, such as Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, election interference, fake news, visas, adoption, trafficking, cyber attacks, terrorism, social media, and the shooting death of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. Smith, who has long advocated for human-rights issue during his time in Congress, is the co-chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, which was created to investigate human rights issues worldwide.

Congressman Smith said the Americans “reached out and sought dialogue” with the Russians in the “hope of changing, or at least beginning to mitigate a totally unacceptable status quo.”

Smith also told the Asbury Park Press the Russians had “not one word" about President Trump, and when the APP reporter pressed him further, he said “I think they like Putin. I don’t think they like Trump at all. I don’t think they like the Americans.’’

Still, Smith overall said the meeting went very well and lasted more than two hours, although it was only scheduled for one hour.

“This was a fruitful conversation and dialogue," he said.

The head of the Russian delegation, Pyotr Tolstoy, released the following statement:

"The Russian Federation is open to dialogue that is open and candid, just like in the 1980/90s," said Tolstoy “We're convinced that democracy is dialogue and trust is the result of this dialogue despite the fake news and clichés, let’s keep moving forward.”

Midterm election coming for New Jersey's Fourth District

New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District includes nearly all of Monmouth County, from parts of Middletown and all of Holmdel on south, into Colts Neck, Freehold, Jackson, Plumstead and Point Pleasant in Ocean County and a small sliver of Mercer County (Hamilton and Robbinsville). See if you live in New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Smith has represented New Jersey's 4th District for decades, since 1981. He's a staunch Republican, and the area is reliably Republican, having voted for Republican presidents in the past four elections: Trump, Romney, McCain and Bush.

But he is facing an election challenge this year from Democrat Josh Welle, a self-described centrist Democrat. Welle is a veteran of the U.S. Navy who served multiple tours in Afghanistan after 9/11. He grew up in Wall, lived in Annapolis and recently moved back to Red Bank before deciding to challenge Smith for the seat in Congress.

There is a strong progressive element to the fourth district as well, and some think 2018, riding a blue wave of anti-Trump sentiment, could be the year a Democrat could finally unseat Smith. Welle recently visited the U.S.-Mexico border, where he strongly criticized Trump's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy because it has led to some veterans being deported. Read that article: Democrat Running For NJ 4 Bashes Trump's Zero-Tolerance Policy

The midterm election is Nov. 6.