As the Senate continues to investigate possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, its gaze has turned to Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein. Mainstream Democrats have criticized Stein for attending a 2015 dinner in Russia that was also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and future White House national security adviser Michael Flynn.

In a new interview with Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer, Stein clears up any misgivings about her trip to Russia---something she has also addressed in a Facebook live video. The two go on to examine the larger problem of the "Russiagate" hysteria permeating American politics.

"I want to just be very clear that we oppose election interference, in all capacities," Stein states. "People are concerned about the integrity of our elections, and how our elections are being manipulated and degraded by all kinds of things. It would be nice if these intelligence agencies, who are screaming 'Russia, Russia, Russia,' would please release the evidence."

"We have now the old-fashioned McCarthyite redbaiting of someone who dared to go to Moscow and actually sit at the table with a Russian leader, when that in fact was the kind of activity [that] in the old days helped to break the Cold War," Scheer says. "An American candidate for office, in America, is being redbaited under a McCarthyite attack for daring to attend a conference in Moscow."

Watch the full conversation in the video above.

--Posted by Emma Niles