Mueller indicts 13 Russian nationals for interfering in the 2016 election
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for meddling in the 2016 election. In the first election interference charges to result from Mueller's probe, the federal indictment states that the defendants "conspired to obstruct the lawful functions of the United States government through fraud and deceit."
The document explains how a Russian organization, the Internet Research Agency, used fake accounts on various social media platforms to sow chaos during the presidential election. In some cases, Russian agents assumed the identities of real Americans to manipulate social media. The goal was to "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary [Clinton] and the rest" of the candidates, while actively supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Donald Trump. The Russians also allegedly aimed to suppress the minority vote by encouraging minorities to vote for a third-party candidate or skip voting altogether.
The indictment also claims that "unwitting members, volunteers, and supporters of the Trump campaign" came into contact with Russians posing as Americans. In a press conference announcing the indictment, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the charges were "a reminder that people are not always who they seem on the internet." Still, he told reporters, "There is no allegation in this indictment that [such meddling] altered the outcome of the 2016 election."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Read the indictment in full here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
'This needs to be a bigger deal'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - November 29, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 29, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - November 29, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 29, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom ban
Speed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in Russia
Speed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sri Lanka's new Marxist leader wins huge majority
Speed Read The left-leaning coalition of newly elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won 159 of the legislature's 225 seats
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published