No Collusion, Says Trump as Russians Indicted For US Poll Meddling

Thirteen Russians and three Russian entities were charged for illegal meddling in 2016 US presidential election.

Alexander Vinnik, a 38 year old Russian man (left) suspected of running a money laundering operation, is escorted by a plain-clothes police officer to a court.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@NichamonKitti)

A Russian Internet agency and more than a dozen Russians interfered in the US election campaign from 2014 through 2016 in a multi-pronged effort with the aim of supporting then-businessman Donald Trump and disparaging his rival Hillary Clinton, the US Special Counsel said in an indictment on 16 February.

The 37-page indictment filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller described a conspiracy to disrupt the US election by people who adopted false online personas to push divisive messages; traveled to the United States to collect intelligence; and staged political rallies while posing as Americans.

Russia’s Internet Research Agency “had a strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system, including the 2016 US presidential election.”

The indictment

"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... and disparaging Hillary Clinton,” the indictment added.

The indictment broadly echoes the conclusions of a January 2017 US intelligence community assessment, which found that Russia had meddled in the election, and that its goals eventually included aiding Trump.

President Trump has been briefed on the indictment announced on Friday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Trump has never unequivocally accepted that report, and has denounced Mueller’s probe into whether his campaign colluded with the Kremlin as a “witch hunt.”

Facebook and Twitter both declined to comment on the indictment.

Meanwhile, US House democratic leader Pelosi says Mueller's indictments make Russian interference in US 2016 election "absolutely clear". The court document appeared likely to provide ammunition to Democrats and others arguing for a continued aggressive probe of the matter.

The indictment names the Internet Research Agency, based in St Petersburg, Russia; 13 Russian nationals; and two other companies. The 2017 intelligence agency finding has spawned investigations into any ties between Republican Trump’s campaign and Moscow.

Trump Denies Any Collusion by His Campaign

The alleged Russian interference had no impact on the results of the 2016 US presidential elections, President Donald Trump has said in response, reports PTI.

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!

President Donald Trump, as quoted by PTI

Speaking out against the indictment, Trump reportedly urged Americans to unite and fight against those "seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful", the report adds. “It’s time we stop the outlandish partisan attacks, wild and false allegations, and far-fetched theories, which only serve to further the agendas of bad actors, like Russia, and do nothing to protect the principles of our institutions. We must unite as Americans to protect the integrity of our democracy and our elections,” Trump reportedly said.

Following the return of the indictments by a federal grand juries, both the Democrats and Republicans reportedly stated that this vindicated their respective stands, with Democratic Senator Mark Warner saying that the indictment was an “important step to hold Russia accountable,” PTI reports.

Speaking about a “sophisticated attack” on American Democracy, Senator Dianne Feinstein said: “Unfortunately, President Trump's lack of leadership in this area is becoming an issue of national security. He needs to stop denying that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and mobilise a robust federal response,” the report adds.

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

Frankly, the United States is under attack. 

Dan Coats

Russia would try to interfere in the 2018 US midterm elections by using social media to spread propaganda and misleading reports, much as it did in the 2016 campaign, intelligence chiefs said at the hearing.

Russia Calls US Allegations of Election Meddling Absurd

Allegations by the United States that Russian nationals interfered in US elections are absurd, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

13 people interfered in the US elections?! 13 against an intelligence services budget of billions? Against intelligence and counterintelligence, against the latest developments and technologies? Absurd? Yes.

Zakharova wrote in a post on Facebook.

Russian businessman Evgeny Prigozhin said on Friday he was not upset about his indictment for alleged election meddling in United States, RIA news agency reported.

The Americans are very emotional people, they see what they want to see. I have great respect for them. I am not at all upset that I am on this list. If they want to see the devil, let them. 

RIA quoted Prigozhin as saying.

Wall St Pares Gains After Indictment

US stocks rose for a sixth straight session on Friday, putting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on course for their best week in more than six years, strengthening Wall Street's rebound from a brutal selloff earlier this month.

The markets gave up a chunk of the gains after US Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office said a US federal grand jury indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities accused of interfering with US elections and political processes.

(With inputs from PTI and Reuters)