Svyatenkov recalled that Dick Cheney previously worked in the administrations of Republican presidents George Bush Sr. and George W. Bush.
"This is when a part of the Republican elite that is associated with the Bush group — both the elder and the younger — comes into the game," the expert said.
According to the expert, Cheney played an important role in the Bush administration — he held the post of defense minister and vice president and many believed him to be an extremely influential "shadow ruler" of America.
"Therefore, the fact that now Cheney makes such statements means that there is an attempt to pour gasoline into the scandal, and a serious split among the Republican elite,"Svyatenkov noted.
In his opinion, such statements are, first of all, directed against Donald Trump.
"Such tough statements are used to manipulate the Trump administration," the expert noted, adding that "this is one of the reasons why Donald Trump can't now improve relations with Russia, as he promised, because — due to hysteria in the media and among the elite — he will be presented as a "Russian spy." Therefore, Trump is very limited in his actions, unlike most American presidents, he does not have "freedom of action" in foreign policy. He has to consider the position within his party and within the country as a whole," the expert explained.
Svyatenkov believes that the anti-Russian rhetoric will be increasingly used in the United States.
"I think no one is yet tired of this topic. The media have been manipulating it quite skillfully. This is a tool against Trump, this is the preservation of some people's hopes for his impeachment. Thus, although the accusations seem ridiculous, this is a serious political topic and it will be used further," Svyatenkov concluded.
"There's not any argument at this stage that somehow the election of President Trump was not legitimate, but there's no question that there was a very serious effort made by Mr. Putin and his government, his organization, to interfere in major ways with our basic, fundamental democratic processes," he said. "In some quarters that would be considered an act of war."
Despite his accusations, Cheney failed to provide any evidence of Russia's interference in the US affairs. US President Donald Trump repeatedly denied any secret ties with Moscow while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the allegations groundless and absurd.
