Putin says Donald Trump criminal cases show ‘rottenness’ of US political system

'Everything that is happening with Trump is the persecution of a political rival for political reasons,' Putin said

Russian president Vladimir Putin addresses a session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok (Pavel Bednyakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian president Vladimir Putin has said the criminal cases against former Donald Trump are political revenge that show the fundamental corruption of the United States.

“As for the prosecution of Trump, for us what is happening in today’s conditions, in my opinion, is good because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others democracy,” Mr Putin said at an Eastern Economic Forum gathering in Russia’s Pacific Coast city of Vladivostok.