Clinton criticizes UK for blocking Russian influence report

LONDON (AP) — Hillary Clinton says she's "dumbfounded" that the U.K. government has failed to release a report on Russian influence in British politics as the country prepares for national elections.

The former U.S. presidential candidate told British media that the public needs to know what is in the report by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee before Britain's Dec. 12 vote.

The government said it needs more time to consider the report before releasing it to the public. Critics, however, claim the report has been withheld until the next Parliament because it is embarrassing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party, which is trying to win a majority and push through Johnson's Brexit plan to take Britain out of the European Union.

"I'm dumbfounded that this government won't release the report ... because every person who votes in this country deserves to see that report before your election happens," Clinton told the BBC on Tuesday.

Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the 2016 U.S. presidential election found that Russia interfered in the vote in a "sweeping and systemic" fashion. U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed the Mueller report's conclusions, but the investigation has put Russia into the crosshairs of a debate on freedom and the integrity of elections worldwide.

Clinton also spoke about the British report with the Guardian newspaper at an event promoting "The Book of Gutsy Women," a work she co-authored with her daughter, Chelsea.

"I am, as a great admirer of Britain, concerned, because I can't make sense of what is happening," Clinton told the Guardian . "We have a president who admires dictators and takes their help and does all kinds of crazy stuff. So we need you to be the sane member of this partnership going forward."

Bill Browder, a former...