Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher met with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who the congressman said denied that Russia was involved in sending him emails from the Democratic National Committee.

WikiLeaks published emails from the Democratic National Committee, which led to the resignation of DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

“He reaffirmed his aggressive denial that the Russians had anything to do with the hacking of the DNC during the election,” Rohrabacher said of Assange, the Orange County Register reported.

Rohrabacher’s statements come despite the fact that U.S. intelligence authorities have said with “high confidence” that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election.

Rohrabacher is often referred to as “Putin’s favorite congressman” for his sympathetic views toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.