Special counsel Robert Mueller charged with investigating the fake “Trump-Russia collusion” has indicted 13 Russians and 3 businesses charging them with conspiracy to meddle in the 2016 U.S. elections.
The indictment issued on Friday afternoon, accuses Russian individuals and three companies among them an internet firm called Internet Research Agency, with conspiracy, identity theft and failure to register as foreign agents.
The companies are also accused of spending more than $1.2 million a month to organize and pay for the massive effort through different channels.
Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein (L) read the Muller (R) Indictment charging 13 Russians and 3 companies on conspiracy to meddle in 2016 U.S. Elections on Friday, February 16, 2018.
According to the 37-page indictment, officials at the internet research firm described their goal as “spreading distrust toward the candidates and the political system” and their work as “information warfare against the United States.”
The research firm is also accused of running a Russian “troll factory” which included setting up fake Twitter accounts and Facebook groups to support then presidential candidate Donald Trump and oppose Hillary Clinton.
The “Troll Factory”building in St. Petersburg also houses the Internet Research Agency. Credit: AP
The Russian individuals on the other hand are accused of stealing identities from American citizens and in some cases, created fake ones which they later used to open Bank accounts. They also used them to create a massive online presence and even staged rallies to try and “sow discord.”
The conspiracy is said to date back to 2014 well before the 2016 Presidential Election and before either Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were officially the candidates for their respective parties.
However, the indictment also states that by the 2016 election, the operation was specifically “supporting the Presidential Campaign of then candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaging Hillary Clinton.”
The Mueller Indictment named Putin’s personal chef Yvegniy Viktorovich Prigozhin (L) in the charges. Credit: AP
The Mueller indictment also charges that some Russians posing as Americans “communicated with unwitting individuals” associated with the Trump Campaign allegedly “to seek to coordinate political activities.”
The elaborate scheme extended from social media posts meant to pick at political divisions among Americans and staging rallies to support as well as to protest Trump at the same time.
President Trump’s tweet in response to the Mueller Indictment, 16 February. 2018 Credit: Twitter
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein cautioned that despite the “meddling” by Russians and so-called Russian bots, “There is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.”
He also pointed out that, “There is no allegation in the indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity,” prompting a response from President Trump.
Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein (L) read the Muller (R) Indictment charging 13 Russians and 3 companies on conspiracy to meddle in 2016 U.S. Elections on Friday, February 16, 2018.
“Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President. The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion!” he tweeted.
It is important to note that the Mueller indictment comes just when both the FBI and Justice Department (DOJ) are under scrutiny after being exposed for colluding with Hillary Clinton, DNC, a former British MI6 agent and Russians against then-candidate and later President Trump to undermine his presidency during the Barack Obama administration.
The Mueller Indictment comes when FISA Memo exposed corruption and abuse of power by the FBI and Justice Department during Barack Obama admin.
Although the indictment doesn’t implicate President Trump directly, in a deeply politically polarized America, the Mueller Indictment will be interpreted differently and along partisan lines.
Democrats and the fake “Russia Collusion” conspirators like California Congressman Rep. Adam Shifty Schiff who want a Trump impeachment will be rejoicing while those calling the Mueller non-existent “Trump-Russia Collusion” investigation a political witch-hunt, will question its timing and credibility.
Democrats led by Rep. Adam Shifty Schiff insist there is Russian Collusion which is yet to be proven.
Critics of the Mueller Investigation will point out to the language used in the indictment which sounds more like the typical Democrats, Hillary Clinton campaign and anti-Trump advocates’ talking points that the purpose of the operation was “supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump…and disparaging Hillary Clinton.”
They will also point to the fact that “meddling” is not “collusion” as has been hyped by the Trump-hating media, Democrats and their Resist movement.
The Mueller Indictment accuses Russians of meddling in U.S. elections. Credit: Rick Wilking/Reuters
President Trump has remained consistent in his insistence that there was no collusion between him, his campaign and the Russians.
Mikhail Ivanovich Bystrov, Mikhail Leonidovich Burchik, Aleksandra Yuryevna Krylova, Anna Vladislavovna Bogacheva, Sergey Pavlovich Polozov, Maria Anatolyevna Bovda, Robert Sergeyevich Bovda, Dzheykhun Nasimi Ogly Aslanov, Vadim Vladimirovich Podkopaev, Gleb Igorevitch Vasilchenko, Irina Viktorovna Kaverzina, Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin and Vladimir Venkov were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States.
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