Donald Trump says there’s no proof Putin killed journalists

The Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Sunday pushed back on the notion that Russian President Vladimir Putin has killed journalists, saying that it’s “terrible” if it’s happened but he hasn’t seen proof that it has.

“In all fairness to Putin, you’re saying he killed people. I haven’t seen that. I don’t know that he has. Have you been able to prove that? Do you know the names of the reporters that he’s killed? Because I’ve been — you know, you’ve been hearing this, but I haven’t seen the names,” Trump said on ABC.

The Russian President, who some of Trump’s GOP rivals call a “thug” and a threat, recently praised Trump as “bright and talented.”

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When confronted with Mitt Romney’s tweet also alleging that Putin kills journalists and political opponents, Trump again dismissed the claims. “He’s always denied it,” Trump said of Putin. “He’s never — it’s never been proven that he’s killed anybody. So, you know, you’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, at least in our country. He has not been proven that he’s killed reporters.”

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked about a presumed moral equivalency innate in Trump’s answer, to which Trump fired back: “I’m saying, when you say a man has killed reporters, I’d like you to prove it.” Trump did add that if this had happened, it was “despicable.”

The Committee To Protect Journalists, however, does provide names of journalists killed in Russia. Since 1992, the CPJ says that 56 journalists of various nationalities have been killed in Russia.

But despite the testy tone of the interview and serious nature of the content, which included Trump continuing to defend his 9/11 Muslim celebrations claims, Trump admitted he was having fun. “I know you’re having a lot of fun this morning,” Trump told Stephanopoulos about midway through the interview. “And so am I if you want to know the truth.”