Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
In his interview with Megyn Kelly, which will air tonight on NBC, Vladimir Putin said he "didn't even really talk" to Michael Flynn when he and the former national security advisor were seated together at a 2015 dinner:
"You and I personally have a much closer relationship than I had with Mr Flynn.... When I came to the event for our for our company, Russia Today, and sat down at the table, next to me there was a gentleman sitting on one side. I made my speech. Then we talked about some other stuff. And I got up and left... afterwards I was told, 'You know there was an American gentleman, he was involved in some things. He used to be in the security services.' ....That's the extent of my acquaintance with Mr Flynn."
The backstory: The payments Flynn received from RT, and his appearance next to Putin at the dinner, have been raised frequently amid speculation about his relationship with the Kremlin.