House Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Tuesday which stem, in part, from the president’s years-long efforts to downplay Russian influence operations around the 2016 US presidential elections. A few hours later, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a joint press conference at the US State Department, where, with a straight face, Lavrov doubled down on Russia’s denials of involvement in the last presidential election—a storyline embraced by Trump and some Congressional Republicans. “Our joint work was hindered and continues to be hindered by the wave of suspicion that has overcome Washington,” Lavrov said, standing to Pompeo’s right.