Justice Department Announces Indictments of 13 Russians in 2016 Election Probe
By Ted Johnson @tedstew Ted Johnson
Robert Mueller
CREDIT: AP
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced the indictment of 13 Russian nationals and three entities on charges related to attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
Also named in the 37-page indictment were the Internet Research Agency and two other entities, in what is described as a concerted effort to undermine the election. That included creating fake social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter, in some cases using stolen identities and posing as “politically active”e Americans. They also purchased ads on social media networks and paid real Americans to participate, and staged rallies to support Trump.
The indictments were the first filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that charge specific individuals with interference in the election.
In a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said that “there is no allegation in the indictment that any American was a knowing participant in the alleged unlawful activity. There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.”
He said that the investigation of Mueller’s investigation is ongoing.
Rosenstein said the conspiracy was part of a “larger conspiracy” called Project Lockdown, and employed hundreds of people in its online operations, with an annual budget of “millions of dollars,” Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, said at a press conference.
A federal grand jury returned the indictment on Friday. The defendants were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. Three of the defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, some of the defendants “posing as U.S. persons without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign and with other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities.”
The indictment is here.
By Ted Johnson @tedstew Ted Johnson
Robert Mueller
CREDIT: AP
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced the indictment of 13 Russian nationals and three entities on charges related to attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
Also named in the 37-page indictment were the Internet Research Agency and two other entities, in what is described as a concerted effort to undermine the election. That included creating fake social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter, in some cases using stolen identities and posing as “politically active”e Americans. They also purchased ads on social media networks and paid real Americans to participate, and staged rallies to support Trump.
The indictments were the first filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that charge specific individuals with interference in the election.
In a press conference, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said that “there is no allegation in the indictment that any American was a knowing participant in the alleged unlawful activity. There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.”
He said that the investigation of Mueller’s investigation is ongoing.
Rosenstein said the conspiracy was part of a “larger conspiracy” called Project Lockdown, and employed hundreds of people in its online operations, with an annual budget of “millions of dollars,” Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, said at a press conference.
A federal grand jury returned the indictment on Friday. The defendants were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. Three of the defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, some of the defendants “posing as U.S. persons without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign and with other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities.”
The indictment is here.
