Thirteen Russians criminally charged for interfering in 2016 election

The detailed 37-page indictment says that the Russians’ operations “included supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump … and disparaging Hillary Clinton,” his Democratic opponent.

The Russians posed as Americans to operate bogus social media accounts, buy advertisements, and stage political rallies. These Russian government operatives stole the identities of real people in the United States to post online and built computer systems in the United States to conceal the Russian origin of their activity, the indictment says.

“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 states.

Some of the Russians posed as U.S. persons and, without revealing their Russian identities, “communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign and with other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities,” the indictment said.

Individuals involved in the conspiracy traveled to and around the United States, visiting at least eight states, court papers show, and worked with an unidentified American. That person advised them to focus their efforts on what they viewed as “purple” election battleground states, including Colorado, Virginia and Florida, the indictment said.

By February 2016, the suspects had decided whom they were supporting in the 2016 race. According to the indictment, Internet Research Agency specialists were instructed to “use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump — we support them.)”

One defendant, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, is accused in the indictment of using companies he controlled – including Concord Management and Consulting, and Concord Catering – to finance the operations against the United States. The operation at one stage had a monthly budget of $1.25 million, according to Mueller, which paid for operatives’ salaries and bonuses.

The New York Times reports that events were organized by Russians posing as Trump supporters and as groups opposed to Trump such as Black Lives Matter, according to prosecutors, and one advertisement shortly before the election promoted the Green party candidate Jill Stein, who is blamed by Clinton backers for splitting the anti-Trump vote.

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, in announcing the indictment, said the indictment is “a reminder that people are not always who they appear on the Internet. The indictment alleges that the Russian conspirators want to promote social discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy. We must not allow them to succeed.”

The individuals listed as charged are Mikhail Ivanovich Bystrov, Mikhail Leonidovich Burchik, Aleksandra Yuryevna Krylova, Anna Vladislavovna Bogacheva, Sergey Pavlovich Polozov, Maria Anatolyevna Bovda, Robert Sergeyevich Bovda, Dzheykhun Nasimi Ogly, Vadim Vladimirovich Podkopaev, Gleb Igorevitch Vasilchenko, Irina Viktorovna Kaverzina, Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin and Vladimir Venkov.

All were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. Three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants were charged with aggravated identity theft.

The U.S. intelligence community concluded last year that Russian government operatives, on orders of Vladimir Putin, launched an attack on the U.S. election system aimed at electing Donald Trump to the presidency.

Five leaders of the intelligence community – three of them Trump appointees – testified Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, said they agreed with the conclusions of their predecessors about the Russian interference and about the fact the Kremlin aimed to ensure the election of Trump.

The five leaders also said that Trump has never asked any of them about what their agencies were doing to deal with the ongoing Russian cyber and disinformation campaign aiming to undermine the U.S. democratic system. Trump has also never instructed any of them to do anything about Russian interference.