Mueller Issues First Charges Alleging Interference in 2016 - NYTimes

WASHINGTON — The special counsel investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election charged 13 Russian nationals and three Russian organizations on Friday with illegally using social media platforms to sow political discord, including actions that supported the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump and disparaged his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

The indictment represents the first charges by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, for meddling in the 2016 presidential election — the fundamental crime that he was assigned to investigate.

In a 37-page indictment filed in United States District Court, Mr. Mueller said that the 13 individuals have conspired since 2014 to violate laws that prohibit foreigners from spending money to influence federal elections in the United States.

The indictment charges that the foreigners falsely posed as American citizens, stole identities and otherwise engaged in fraud and deceit in an effort to influence the U.S. political process, including the 2016 presidential race.

“The nature of the scheme was the defendants took extraordinary steps to make it appear that they were ordinary American political activists,” Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general overseeing Mr. Mueller’s inquiry, said in a brief news conference on Friday afternoon at the Justice Department.

Though the Russians are unlikely to be immediately arrested, they are now wanted by the United States government, which will make it hard for them to travel or do business internationally.

All were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. Three defendants were also charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.

The Internet Research Agency, operating out of St. Petersburg, was described in the indictment as a hub for a sophisticated operation designed to reach millions of Americans to disrupt the political process in the United States. Its annual budget was millions of dollars; its stated goal was to “spread distrust toward the candidates and the political system in general.” 

[Read our 2015 profile of the Internet Research Agency »]

Individuals involved in the conspiracy traveled to and around the United States, visiting at least eight states, court papers show, and worked with an unidentified American. That person advised them to focus their efforts on what they viewed as “purple” election battleground states, including Colorado, Virginia and Florida, the indictment said.

The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov told the RBC news website that Russian officials haven’t familiarized themselves with the document yet.

Mr. Rosenstein said repeatedly that the indictment does not allege that the Russian operation changed the outcome of the presidential election.

Even though the Russians recruited and paid Americans to help them stage political rallies and promote political candidates, he said, the indictment also does not allege that any of the Americans knowingly conspired with the Russian operation.

“There is no allegation in this indictment that any American had any knowledge,” he said. - Read More

13 Named in Russia Indictment by Special Counsel in First Charges ...

Read the Special Counsel's Indictment Against the Internet Research ... -

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