(Rick Bowmer | AP) Republican ex-Russia ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr. looks on after speaking at the Hinckley Institute of Politics Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, in Salt Lake City. President Donald Trump’s former ambassador to Russia said Vladimir Putin is likely “joyful” about the renewed prominence of a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine was responsible for meddling in the 2016 election, which experts consider Russian disinformation.