Grand Jury Indicts Russians Linked To Interference In 2016 Election

A federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russians and three Russian entities in connection with the attack on the 2016 presidential election.

The defendants are “accused of violating U.S. criminal laws in order to interfere with U.S. elections and political processes,” according to a statement from the special counsel’s office. The indictment charges them with “conspiracy to defraud the United States, three defendants with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.”

Some of the people described in the court documents even traveled to the United States or “communicated with unwitting individuals associated with [President Trump’s campaign] and with other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities,” the indictment says.

The charges include some of the most detail yet from Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller about who inside Russia waged the broad campaign of “active measures” against the United States.

At a Friday afternoon news conference, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller’s investigation, called the Russian efforts “information warfare” with “the stated goal of spreading distrust against the candidates and the political system in general.”

However, Rosenstein underscored that there is “no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity” and “no allegation that this activity actually altered the outcome of the 2016 election.”

Trump tweeted on Friday shortly after the indictment was handed up that it proved that there was “no collusion” between his campaign and Russian agents.

The president’s tweet also seems to accept that there was some degree of Russian interference. However, Trump has, at times, doubted that there were any efforts by Russians to influence the 2016 election, which Friday’s indictment clearly outlines in rich, lengthy detail. He has called media reports and other discussion of the Russian interference campaign a “hoax” and “fake news.” And last month the administration decided not to impose new sanctions on Russia despite a law passed by Congress.

Source: Wamu News