U.S. charges Russians with 2016 U.S. election tampering to boost Trump

[rooster59]

U.S. charges Russians with 2016 U.S. election tampering to boost Trump

By Warren Strobel, Dustin Volz and Jonathan Landay

 

FILE PHOTO: FBI Director Robert Mueller testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Federal Bureau of Investigation oversight on Capitol Hill in Washington June 13, 2013. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Russian Internet agency oversaw a criminal and espionage conspiracy to tamper in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to support Donald Trump and disparage Hillary Clinton, said an indictment released on Friday that revealed more details than previously known about Moscow's purported effort to interfere.

 

The office of U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russians and three Russian companies. The court document said those accused "had a strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election."

 

The indictment said Russians adopted false online personas to push divisive messages; travelled to the United States to collect intelligence; and staged political rallies while posing as Americans. In one case, it said, the Russians paid an unidentified person to build a cage aboard a flatbed truck and another to wear a costume "portraying Clinton in a prison uniform."

 

The surprise 37-page indictment could alter the divisive U.S. domestic debate over Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, undercutting some Republicans who, along with Trump, have attacked Mueller's probe.

 

"These Russians engaged in a sinister and systematic attack on our political system. It was a conspiracy to subvert the process, and take aim at democracy itself," said Paul Ryan, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives.

 

The indictment is silent on the question of whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin, which Mueller is investigating.

 

In a Tweet on Friday, Trump said: "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!"

 

INVESTIGATION CONTINUES

 

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller's work, told reporters in announcing the charges that the investigation was not finished. The special counsel's office last year charged four other people.

 

The indictment broadly echoes the conclusions of a January 2017 U.S. intelligence assessment, which found that Russia had meddled in the election, and that its goals eventually included aiding Trump. In November 2016, Trump won a surprise victory over Democratic Party candidate Clinton.

 

Mueller's indictment did not tie the meddling effort to the Russian government. But the earlier U.S. intelligence assessment said Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign to influence the U.S. election.

 

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the allegations that Russian nationals interfered in U.S. elections absurd.

 

Trump has never unequivocally accepted the U.S. intelligence report and has denounced Mueller's probe into whether his campaign colluded with the Kremlin as a "witch hunt."

 

Some of those charged, posing as Americans, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign, the indictment said. Last year, two former Trump campaign aides pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI - charges brought by Mueller's office.

 

The indictment of the Russians, coupled with the FBI disclosure that it failed to heed a warning about the Florida high school shooter, were blows to the White House, still reeling from the fallout of a scandal involving a former aide accused of domestic abuse by two ex-wives.

 

Trump, who had hoped to focus the entire week on his infrastructure proposal, was closeted in the Oval Office as the reports rolled in, and his communications team was slow to respond to the ever-growing list of queries.

 

'CONSPIRATORS'

 

Rosenstein told a press conference: "The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general."

 

The indictment describes a sophisticated, multi-year and well-funded operation, dubbed "Project Lakhta," by Russian entities to influence the election, beginning as early as May 2014.

 

Russians unlawfully used stolen social security numbers and birth dates of Americans to open accounts on the PayPal digital payment platform and to post on social media using those fake identities, the indictment said.

 

Mueller also on Friday reached an agreement with an American named Richard Pinedo, who pled guilty to aiding and abetting interstate and foreign identity fraud by creating, buying and stealing hundreds of bank account numbers that he sold to individuals to use with large digital payment companies.

 

According to a source familiar with the indictments, Pinedo is the person cited in the document as helping the Russian conspirators launder money, as well as purchase Facebook ads and pay for rally supplies, through PayPal Holdings Inc. <PYPL.O>.

 

Pinedo's attorney, Jeremy I. Lessem, said in a statement that "Mr. Pinedo had absolutely no knowledge of the identities and motivations of any of the purchasers of the information he provided."

 

The Russians sought to measure the impact of their online social media operations, tracking the size of U.S. audiences reached through posts and other types of engagement, such as likes, comments and reposts, according to the indictment.

 

Facebook and Twitter, the social media companies whose platforms were used, both declined to comment on the indictment.

 

The Internet Research Agency was registered with the Russian government as a corporate entity in July 2013 and the St. Petersburg location "became one of the organization’s operational hubs," for the project, the indictment said.

 

The organization employed hundreds of people, ranging from creators of fictitious person to technical experts, and by September 2016, its budget was in excess of $1.2 million, the court document said.

 

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that he had already seen evidence Russia was targeting U.S. elections in November, when Republican control of the House of Representatives and Senate are at stake, plus a host of positions in state governments.

 

The indictment said the Russians it charged tried to destroy evidence of their crimes.

 

For example, in September 2017, one of the defendants wrote an email to a family member stating: "We had a slight crisis at work: the FBI busted our activity (not a joke). So, I got preoccupied with covering tracks together with colleagues."

 

The email continued: "I created all these pictures and posts, and the Americans believed that it was written by their people."

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-02-17

 

 

[Samui Bodoh]

26 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Trump has never unequivocally accepted the U.S. intelligence report and has denounced Mueller's probe into whether his campaign colluded with the Kremlin as a "witch hunt."

 

The failure of Trump to accept that the US has been and continues to be under attack by Russia is truly mystifying and irrational.

 

The only logical reason that I can think of for this disbelief and inaction is that he benefits personally somehow from it.

 

Can anyone offer another reason to explain this behaviour?

 

Serious question...

 

Anyone?

 

[Boon Mee]

<<<<Misleading comments edited out>>>>

 

Russians played both sides:

 

 

Edited February 17, 2018 by metisdead
Misleading comments removed.

[mogandave]

1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

The failure of Trump to accept that the US has been and continues to be under attack by Russia is truly mystifying and irrational.

 

The only logical reason that I can think of for this disbelief and inaction is that he benefits personally somehow from it.

 

Can anyone offer another reason to explain this behaviour?

 

Serious question...

 

Anyone?

 

 

To be clear, he claims his campaign did not collude with the Russians (a lie) but he agrees the Russians meddled with the election.

 

Impeach 45!!!

[attrayant]

42 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Misleading headline.  Should read election tampering to boost Clinton as well. Russians played both sides.

 

Where did Rosenstein say that in the clip?  Nowhere.

 

Let's get some details from the actual indictment, rather than from Fox "News":

 

6. Defendant ORGANIZATION had a strategic goal to sow discord in the US. political system, including the 2016 US. presidential election. Defendants posted derogatory information about a number of candidates, and by early to mid-2016, Defendants' operations included supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump (Trump Campaign) and disparaging Hillary Clinton.

 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2018 by attrayant

[attrayant]

Add this to the list of Trump lies.  Trump in September 2017: "Russia did not help me"

 

 

[selftaopath]

The current part time occupant in the WH again focused on himself. He did not say anything a/b protecting America. He took an oath - LOL  but a liar taking an oath is humorous - to protect, enforce, follow U.S. laws and country. He is derelict in his duty; ought to be removed from office. He is corrupt and wants to rule. He spits on rule of law and democracy. He is a total disgrace of the high position he holds ( mostly by Russia's interference ).  

[sirineou]

43 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

To be clear, he claims his campaign did not collude with the Russians (a lie) but he agrees the Russians meddled with the election.

 

Impeach 45!!!

 If he agrees that Russia meddled with the election and did not take any protective or punitive actions would that in itself be dereliction of duty  and be grounds for impeachment?

[Silurian]

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Rosenstein told a press conference: "The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general."

 

Russia conducted warfare on USA soil to disrupt and destroy the American political system. What has the reality TV president done in response to this information? He tweeted a self focused tweet out of desperation to mislead and redirect the narrative. How does the WH return the attack against Russia? Oh wait, it doesn't return the attack. In fact, the WH decides that the counter attack on Russia, the Congress passed sanctions, are not necessary.  Beyond the idea of collusion with Russia, the WH shows time and time again they are willing turn over and show the belly.

 

So sad that an American president is not willing to defend the US Constitution. So sad that an American president has no backbone to stand up against an attack on US soil. So sad that an American president is more concerned to make sure his election was legitimate and not face the truth of Russian interference.

 

If the president is not willing and able to defend the US Constitution and its political system, then he needs to step aside and let someone who is willing and able to do so. Donald is a weak and craven individual and definitely not up to the job at hand. Step aside Donald, go crawl into your hole and let someone else handle what you obviously can not do.

 

 

 

[mogandave]

19 minutes ago, sirineou said:

 If he agrees that Russia meddled with the election and did not take any protective or punitive actions would that in itself be dereliction of duty  and be grounds for impeachment?

Exactly, that's only one of the many reasons he should be impeached!

[selftaopath]

4 minutes ago, mogandave said:

Exactly, that's only one of the many reasons he should be impeached!

There's a question being asked: (journalist interviewed on MSNBC hrs ago) if Trump welcomed Russia's interference is he a traitor? Remember his plea to Wikileaks/Russia hackers?

 

Also there are some U.S. Representatives that openly state this is/was an act of war by Russia. I feel it certainly is a 21st century act of war; hope America responds appropriately. That probably requires a Democrat party majority in Congress and maybe another WH occupant. 

[Bluespunk]

3 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

The failure of Trump to accept that the US has been and continues to be under attack by Russia is truly mystifying and irrational.

 

The only logical reason that I can think of for this disbelief and inaction is that he benefits personally somehow from it.

 

Can anyone offer another reason to explain this behaviour?

 

Serious question...

 

Anyone?

 

trump’s ego will not allow him to admit anyone, but himself, was responsible for his win. 

[mogandave]

5 minutes ago, selftaopath said:

There's a question being asked: (journalist interviewed on MSNBC hrs ago) if Trump welcomed Russia's interference is he a traitor? Remember his plea to Wikileaks/Russia hackers?

 

Also there are some U.S. Representatives that openly state this is/was an act of war by Russia. I feel it certainly is a 21st century act of war; hope America responds appropriately. That probably requires a Democrat party majority in Congress and maybe another WH occupant. 

So you think the US should go to war with Russia?

 

 

[Berkshire]

44 minutes ago, selftaopath said:

The current part time occupant in the WH again focused on himself. He did not say anything a/b protecting America. He took an oath - LOL  but a liar taking an oath is humorous - to protect, enforce, follow U.S. laws and country. He is derelict in his duty; ought to be removed from office. He is corrupt and wants to rule. He spits on rule of law and democracy. He is a total disgrace of the high position he holds ( mostly by Russia's interference ).  

A total disgrace indeed.  Trump's failure to do anything about Russia cyber warfare is gross dereliction of duty.  This emboldens the Russians to continue and meddle in our elections.  This alone is an impeachable offense.  But there is so much more.  We haven't even gotten to the collusion, obstruction, and the one I think is the biggest criminality of all, the financial corruption.  The Special Counsel is going to rain on Trump like a sht storm, I kid you not.

[Berkshire]

2 minutes ago, mogandave said:

So you think the US should go to war with Russia?

 

 

Cyber warfare?  Absolutely.

[mogandave]

3 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

Cyber warfare?  Absolutely.

i assume they  are and have been for some time.

[selftaopath]

11 minutes ago, mogandave said:

So you think the US should go to war with Russia?

 

 

I believe America ought to aggressively and appropriately act to Russia's aggression. Their intent is to destroy America's democracy/rule of law - or so many would say. A conventional war with Russia is not suggested, but they ought to feel some very grave/severe consequences as a direct result of their choice of behavior.  Likewise all Americans who might be found part of this act of war ought to be dealt with severely.

[Opl]

35 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

trump’s ego will not allow him to admit anyone, but himself, was responsible for his win. 

[selftaopath]

9 minutes ago, Opl said:

MAGA translated: Make America White Again; put women back in the kitchen.

[Becker]

2 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

Misleading headline.  Should read election tampering to boost Clinton as well.

 

Russians played both sides:

 

 

Another "alternative fact" from you. This is the truth:

 

Indictment details

Beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organization Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 elections, according to the indictment.

The defendants allegedly posed as US persons, created false US personas and operated social media pages and groups designed to attract US audiences, the indictment reads. Two of the Russians also allegedly traveled to the United States in 2014 to gather intelligence for their operations.

The Internet Research Agency had a "strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system" including the election, according to the indictment.

Russians posted "derogatory information about a number of candidates," according to the indictment. They bought ads and communicated with "unwitting" people tied to the Trump campaign and others in order to coordinate political activities.

The indictment mentions a February 2016 memo to Internet Research Agency staff telling them to post political content on US social media sites and "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump — we support them)." The reference to Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who challenged Clinton for the Democratic nomination, shows that the Russian government decided early on to oppose Clinton.

(Underlining and bold font done by me)

 

Seems the nothingburger had meat after all, didn't it Boon Mee...

[Scott]

Troll post removed.  

[riclag]

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

 

 

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that he had already seen evidence Russia was targeting U.S. elections in November, 

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

rosenstein told a press conference: "The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general."

 

 Two points on information warfare. A introduction to  a new term,Russian bots and how does one tell if they are commenting with bots?

 

     It was very easy to side with information that was against the other candidate or their agenda.I wasn't persuaded or influenced  to vote for PT because of Russian interference(infoe warfare).It was clear to me as a Independent voter well before DT announced his intentions that change was needed in America.

[Baerboxer]

34 minutes ago, riclag said:

 

 Two points on information warfare. A introduction to  a new term,Russian bots and how does one tell if they are commenting with bots?

 

     It was very easy to side with information that was against the other candidate or their agenda.I wasn't persuaded or influenced  to vote for PT because of Russian interference(infoe warfare).It was clear to me as a Independent voter well before DT announced his intentions that change was needed in America.

 

You raise a good point. All this hype about interference, and let's be honest, that's a bit like saying it's OK when we do it but no one's allowed to do it to us! This suggests that the numerous and much vaunted American national security agencies, those that operate internally and externally, ain't the bees-knees they think they are. It also doesn't make the true things that were revealed false, or mean they can be conveniently swept under the carpet. 

Suggesting that large swathes of the American electorate are easily swayed and influenced by such things, is an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their integrity. It smacks of excuses and of the political elite wanting to resist change and discredit anything that reflects badly on their ingrained institutions and ways,

 

Nearly 50% didn't vote so weren't influenced!

[PhonThong]

2 hours ago, sirineou said:

 If he agrees that Russia meddled with the election and did not take any protective or punitive actions would that in itself be dereliction of duty  and be grounds for impeachment?

If you use that logic, then Obama should also have been impeached. This all started sometime in 2014 during Obama's watch.  I'm not saying that I wanted Obama impeached. Just saying, whats good for the goose......................................gander.

[attrayant]

22 minutes ago, PhonThong said:

If you use that logic, then Obama should also have been impeached. This all started sometime in 2014 during Obama's watch.  I'm not saying that I wanted Obama impeached. Just saying, whats good for the goose......................................gander.

 

Did Obama take no actions against said meddling?

[boomerangutang]

4 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

Misleading headline.  Should read election tampering to boost Clinton as well.

Russians played both sides:

So, it's not enough for right wingers to bleat 'fake news' every time some news appears which is unflattering to their hero:  now they want to have the FBI and Mueller's team re-write their reports to comply with Fox News' shrill lies.

 

Speaking of fake FB posts by right-wingers and Russians,......   Every time Roger Stone says anything on Youtube, there is a flurry of commentary posts praising him as if he was the 2nd Coming of Christ.  Not surprisingly, all those posts have odd non-American names, and they're all phrased similarly.   Stone is the poster boy for Republican Dirty Tricksters, and has been flooding US publications with vindictive anti-American pap smear for decades.  It's no surprise that he could find ways to generate hundreds of self-praising comments on Youtube.

[ncc1701d]

Ohhhhh. Americans thought the Cold War had finished! Lolz.

[farcanell]

????? so.... happy days... Americans willfully elected the Russian candidate... and Hillary needs to wear nappies because she can’t stop pishing herself from laughter.

[jcsmith]

1 hour ago, PhonThong said:

If you use that logic, then Obama should also have been impeached. This all started sometime in 2014 during Obama's watch.  I'm not saying that I wanted Obama impeached. Just saying, whats good for the goose......................................gander.

Ridiculous logic. 
 

1. The hacks here benefited Donald Trump while hurting his political rivals.
2. There was chatter reportedly about Trump for president well before he announced his presidency on Russian channels. This has been in the public for a year or so.
3. Trump's team seemed to know about the emails before they were released. He famously called for their release on television, and the tweet history of his team also seems to point to this.
4. Trump's son confessed that an improportionate amount of their money comes from Russia, and Trump said that he and Putin had a good relationship prior to the election, referring to his time with the Miss Universe pageant. They now deny all of this, and Trump said he has no business dealings with Russia. Evidence has been shown that clearly indicates that during the campaign they were still trying to set up deals in Russia.
5. There was a secret meeting which everyone left off their security forms that included Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr, Paul Manafort, and known Russian entities which was set up under the pretense of providing dirt on Hillary Clinton, to which Trump Jr responded in what is now a public email that, "I love it!" and forwarded this chain to the others. 
6. When the news of this meeting broke, Donald Trump helped Don Jr. concoct a fake statement saying that it was a meeting about adoptions... This story has changed multiple times.
7. Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Rick Gates, Roger Stone, Mike Flynn, Rex Tillerson... What do they have in common? Why are there such a large number of Trump higher ups with ties to Moscow, especially when none of those guys would have been even considered for their positions by anyone else. Trump decides to revive the career of Paul Manafort a guy who has tons of money laundering and agent dealings with Russia and he puts him in charge of his campaign? Out of the blue he name drops Carter Page? He brings back Mike Flynn who didn't have a savory rep out of nowhere. And he pegs Tillerson for Secretary of State who seemingly had no qualifications for the job other than an Order of Friendship medal from Russia.
8. After Obama imposed sanctions against Russia when this all came out, that same day Mike Flynn calls up Ambassador Kislyak and promises him they will undo the sanctions after they are in office. There were multiple phone calls... He then lied to the FBI, and Mike Pence lied to the public about the nature of these calls.
9. When Sally Yates informed the white house about the Flynn calls and him being an agent of Turkey, they did nothing... for weeks. They only addressed the issue once it became public. Trump said to the press that Flynn was just doing his job.
10. Trump asked James Comey to let the Flynn matter go. Then later fired him. The white house concocted some fake story as to why, but Trump the next day confesses on public television that he fired him because of the Russia investigation.
11. Once a special counsel was appointed, Trump made an onslaught on Jeff Sessions for recusing himself. Why would he care about that if he wasn't afraid of the implications? 
12. Trump ordered the firing of the special counsel in June. The only reason it didn't happen is because people threatened to quit rather than issue the order and he then backed off. When this hit the press the white house lied about it.
13. Jared Kushner reportedly tried to set up a back channel with Russia that would bypass surveillance.
14. Betsy Devos' brother tried to set up a back channel with Russia through the middle east, as well.

It's not hard to connect these dots.

Edited February 17, 2018 by jcsmith

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

To be clear, he claims his campaign did not collude with the Russians (a lie) but he agrees the Russians meddled with the election.

 

Impeach 45!!!

 

Actually, depending on the day of the week and time of day, he seems to have given all kinds of different versions -- in typical lying Trump fashion -- of what he thinks about what Russia and Putin did or didn't do. I was reading a news account the other day that recounted what he'd said on the subject at different points in time, and it was dizzying.

 

But yes, the one thing he seems to have been fairly consistent on has been insisting there was no collusion -- even as the noose around his neck and those of his compatriots grows tighter and tighter.