Thirteen Russian Nationals Indicted For Interfering with U.S. Elections

A federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for violating U.S. laws to interfere with the U.S. election and political processes according to the Justice Department

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the charges Friday morning alleging that the 13 Russians posed as people who live in the United States, created false personas, and stole the identities of real people in the U.S. in order to interfere with U.S. elections, including the 2016 contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. 

According to the indictment

“From in or around 2014 to the present, Defendants knowingly and intentionally conspired with each other (and with persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury) to defraud the United States by impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of the government through fraud and deceit for the purpose of interfering with the U.S. political and electoral processes, including the presidential election of 2016."

The indictment also refers to political advertisements bought by the Russian nationals on social media networks like Twitter and Facebook that advocated for Trump, and disparaged Clinton: 

From at least April 2016 through November 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators, while concealing their Russian identities and ORGANIZATION affiliation through false personas, began to produce, purchase, and post advertisements on U.S. social media and other online sites expressly advocating for the election of then-candidate Trump or expressly opposing Clinton. Defendants and their co-conspirators did not report their expenditures to the Federal Election Commission, or register as foreign agents with the U.S. Department of Justice. The political advertisements included the following:

  • April 6, 2016 "You know, a great number of black people support us saying that #HillaryClintonlsNotMyPresident"
  • April 7, 2016 "I say no to Hillary Clinton / I say no to manipulation"
  • April 19, 2016 "JOIN our #HillaryClintonForPrison2016"
  • May 10, 2016 "Donald wants to defeat terrorism ... Hillary wants to sponsor it"
  • May 19, 2016 "Vote Republican, vote Trump, and support the Second Amendment!"
  • May 24, 2016 "Hillary Clinton Doesn't Deserve the Black Vote"
  • June 7, 2016 "Trump is our only hope for a better future!"
  • June 30, 2016 "#Never Hillary #Hillary F orPrison #Hillary4 Prison #HillaryForPrison2016 #Trump2016 #Trump #Trump4President"
  • July 20, 2016 "Ohio Wants Hillary 4 Prison"
  • August 4, 2016 "Hillary Clinton has already committed voter fraud during the Democrat Iowa Caucus."
  • August 10, 2016 "We cannot trust Hillary to take care of our veterans!"
  • October 14, 2016 "Among all the candidates Donald Trump is the one and only who can defend the police from terrorists."
  • October 19, 2016 "Hillary is a Satan, and her crimes and lies had proved just how evil she is."

Rosenstein said the indictment did not contain any allegations that the interference altered the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. 

The indictment issued by the grand jury in the District of Columbia charged all thirteen individuals with conspiracy to defraud the United States. Three of the defendants were charged with conspiracy to  commit wire fraud, and bank fraud. Five defendants were charged with aggravated identity theft. 

This story is breaking and will be updated with more details as they come in.

Photo: Getty Images


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