Special Counsel Robert Mueller has issued a series of indictments against a group of Russian nationals for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging each of them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced on Friday.
As a result of his ongoing investigation, Mueller has indicted 3 Russian companies and 13 Russian nationals, including three being charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and five with aggravated identity theft, accused of having the “strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 presidential election.”
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said during a press conference on Friday that the indictment includes no allegation whatsoever that Americans were knowing participants of the Russians’ efforts to interfere with the U.S. political system, nor does the indictment allege that Russian meddling altered the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
"There's no allegation in this indictment that any American had any knowledge, and the nature of the scheme was that defendants took extraordinary steps to make it appear that they were ordinary American political activists, even going so far as to base their activities on a virtual private network here in the United States so if anyone tried to trace it back ... they'd appear to be Americans," said Rosenstein.
He also stated, "There is no indication in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election."
Details in the indictment include the following:
- The defendants conducted “information warfare” against the U.S. “with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general,” said Rosenstein.
- Twelve of the defendants worked for a St. Petersburg-based company called Internet Research Agency LLC. One defendant funded the group through companies such as Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering.
- The meddling was part of a larger operation called “Project Lakta” – which included using “stolen or fictitious American identities” to purchase political advertisements on social media, posing “as politically and social active Americans, advocating for and against particular candidates,” “establishing social media pages and groups to communicate with unwitting Americans,” recruiting and paying “real Americans to engage in political activities and promote political campaigns,” and staging political rallies while posing as U.S. grassroots groups, said Rosenstein.
- One such example included two political rallies on the same day in New York, one pro-Trump and one anti-Trump, meant to “sow discord” among Americans after the elections.
- The Russians are accused of spreading disparaging information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, while being supportive of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders and then-Republican candidate Donald Trump.
The Special Counsel's investigation is ongoing, Rosenstein said.
He added that the indictment "serves as a reminder that people are not always who they appear to be on the internet."
(Cover Photo: Fox News)
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