government. this is by professor karen dawasha who wrote, "instead of seeing russian politics as an inchoate democratic system being pulled down by bureaucratic incompetence or poor western advice, i conclude that from the beginning, putin and his circle sought to create an authoritarian regime ruled by a close-knit cabal who used democracy for decoration rather than direction." mr. comey, is it fair to say that the line that exists in the united states between government officers and government officials is blurred in russia, that there may be oligarchs or other individuals who on the surface appear to be private citizens but who have connections to this close-knit cabal who might be agents of influence or might be doing the kremlin's bidding in contact with others? >> that's fair to say. and one of our counterintelligence missions is to try to understand who are those people and are they acting on behalf of the russian