By ERIC TUCKER
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Thirteen Russians, including a businessman close to Vladimir Putin were charged Friday in an elaborate plot to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election through social media propaganda, aimed in part at helping Republican Donald Trump and harming the prospects of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
The federal indictment, brought by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, represents the most direct allegation to date of illegal Russian meddling during the campaign that sent Trump to the White House. It also marks the first criminal charges against Russians believed to have secretly worked to influence the outcome.
Though the criminal case does not allege that any American knowingly participated, it nonetheless alleges a vast and wide-ranging Russian effort to sway political opinion during the presidential primaries and general election.
It alleges that Russians working in concert with the Internet Research Agency, a St. Petersburg-based troll farm, purchased Internet advertisements in the names of Americans whose identities they had stolen, staged political rallies while posing as American political activists and paid people in the U.S. to promote or disparage candidates.
The intent of the meddling, the indictment says, was to “sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 presidential election.”
The indictment arises from Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the election and whether there was improper coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. The charges are similar to the assessment of the U.S. intelligence community, which months after the election described a Russian government effort to interfere on Trump’s behalf.
The Russians’ “strategic goal” was to sow discord, the indictment says, and by early-to-mid 2016 their efforts included supporting Trump’s campaign and disparaging Democrat Clinton. The charges say that Russians also communicated with “unwitting individuals” associated with the Trump campaign and other political activists to coordinate activities.
Trump himself has been reluctant to acknowledge the meddling. His spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said Friday that Trump had been briefed on the indictment.
The charges are the latest allegations arising from Mueller’s probe and represent the first criminal case against Russians. Before Friday, four people, including Trump’s former national security adviser and former campaign chairman, had been charged.
According to the indictment, the Internet Research Agency started interfering as early as 2014 in U.S. politics, extending to the 2016 presidential election. The defendants, “posing as U.S. persons and creating false U.S. personas,” operated social media groups designed to attract U.S. audiences by stealing U.S. identities and falsely claiming to be U.S. activists.
“Over time, these social media accounts became defendants’ means to reach significant numbers of Americans for purposes of interfering with the U.S. political system,” the indictment reads.
The defendants are charged with conspiring “to obstruct the lawful functions of the United States government through fraud and deceit,” including by making expenditures in connection with the 2016 election, failing to register as foreign agents carrying out political activities and obtaining visas through false and fraudulent statements.
Some of the Russians traveled to the United States “under false pretenses” to collect intelligence, and they also used computer infrastructure based partly in the United States to hide the Russian origins of their work.
The indictment says the Internet Research Agency was funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a St. Petersburg businessman dubbed “Putin’s chef” because his restaurants and catering businesses once hosted the Kremlin leader’s dinners with foreign dignitaries. The company was also funded by companies Prigozhin controlled, according to the indictment.
Source: Oc Register
13 Russians charged by special counsel with meddling to help Trump in election
More from CrimeMore posts in Crime »
- Slow police response at violent UCLA protest under investigation
- Two charged with cutting down famous tree in England
- Haiti’s fragile health system nearing collapse as chaos grips country
- OC woman falls to death while hiking with family on Bear Mountain in Sedona, Arizona
- Recently arrested Morgan Wallen says he’s ‘not proud’ of behavior
More from GalleryMore posts in Gallery »
- Should Orange County’s Board of Education increase its size? State legislators take up the issue
- Huntington Beach councilmembers pledge to fight state’s lawsuit over city’s voter ID measure
- At least 104 Southern California voters mailed their ballots on time. They weren’t counted
- With 399 victims, Mexico campaign violence is already at record
- Sacramento Snapshot: How the state Senate may tackle election policy work this year
More from investigationMore posts in investigation »
- Top San Bernardino County gang prosecutor under fire for offensive social media posts
- California man pleaded guilty to identity fraud in Russia Probe
- 18-year-old arrested in string of Irvine sexual-battery cases
- Dozens hurt when floor collapses at Indonesia’s stock exchange
- Retired Alhambra professor accused of killing wife was at times funny, vulgar
More from San Diego ChargersMore posts in San Diego Chargers »
- Analysis: Trump lurches into vacuum created by Biden’s days of silence on campus protests
- For immigrant workers who die in US, a body’s journey home is one last struggle
- New Key Bridge estimated to be completed by fall 2028, cost up to $1.9B, officials say
- More public colleges admit high schoolers even before they’ve applied
- A Yellowstone visitor kicked a bison, and that did not end well, rangers say
More from NewsMore posts in News »
- Ancient shells — found in American West — may have been used as trumpets, study says
- Analysis: Trump lurches into vacuum created by Biden’s days of silence on campus protests
- Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons to receive Hollywood Walk of Fame star
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
More from Top Stories BreezeMore posts in Top Stories Breeze »
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
- Ex-Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
- Police dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, 100-plus demonstrators detained
More from top stories ivdbMore posts in top stories ivdb »
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
- Ex-Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
- Police dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, 100-plus demonstrators detained
More from Bayfront ProjectMore posts in Bayfront Project »
- Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons to receive Hollywood Walk of Fame star
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
- Ex-Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
More from Top Stories LBPTMore posts in Top Stories LBPT »
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
- Ex-Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
- Police dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, 100-plus demonstrators detained
More from ArticleMore posts in Article »
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Jury finds 2 Buena Park officers used excessive force in fatal shooting of 19-year-old, award $3.5 million to his mother
- Buena Park man sues for $30 million, claiming OC sheriff’s investigators planted drugs
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
More from Top Stories PEMore posts in Top Stories PE »
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
- Ex-Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
- Slow police response at violent UCLA protest under investigation
More from Sweetwater Bicycle PathMore posts in Sweetwater Bicycle Path »
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
- Ex-Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
- Police dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, 100-plus demonstrators detained
More from top stories rdfMore posts in top stories rdf »
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
- Ex-Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
- Slow police response at violent UCLA protest under investigation
More from PromenadeMore posts in Promenade »
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
- Ex-Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
- Police dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, 100-plus demonstrators detained
More from top stories sunMore posts in top stories sun »
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
- Ex-Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
- Slow police response at violent UCLA protest under investigation
More from Top Stories WDNMore posts in Top Stories WDN »
- Asphalt or concrete lanes? Both are used on 405 Freeway and elsewhere
- With fewer Californians and more construction, where are the housing bargains?
- Five things to take away from the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains monument
- Ex-Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías pleads no contest to domestic battery charge
- Police dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, 100-plus demonstrators detained
Be First to Comment