2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA: "President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia declared on Tuesday [1-17-16] that the political memo alleging that the Kremlin had sought for years to influence President-elect Donald J. Trump was 'fake,' and he said that the effort to compile such a dossier was further evidence of the political decay of the West — one of the Russian leader’s favorite themes.
Mr. Putin also accused the departing United States administration of trying to undermine President Obama’s successor, saying that Russian spies had better things to do than chase rich American businessmen and try to catch them in compromising situations.
'These bogus stories are clearly fake,' Mr. Putin said at a news conference of allegations that included Mr. Trump cavorting with prostitutes while visiting Russia."
– “Putin Says Accusations in Trump Dossier Are ‘Clearly Fake’,” The New York Times online, Jan 17, 2017, Neil MacFaquhar, 1/17/2017