Robert Mueller indicts 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking US Democrats in 2016 presidential election
The indictments were announced as part of the ongoing special counsel investigation into potential coordination between Donald Trump’s election campaign and Russia
Twelve Russian intelligence officers were indicted on charges of hacking into Democratic email accounts during the 2016 US presidential election, stealing data on 500,000 US voters, and releasing stolen information in the months before Americans headed to the polls, the Justice Department said on Friday.
The indictment – which comes days before US President Donald Trump holds a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin – was the clearest allegation yet of Russian efforts to meddle in American politics. US intelligence agencies have said the interference was aimed at helping the presidential campaign of Republican Donald Trump and harming the election bid of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
The indictment lays out a sweeping and coordinated effort to break into key Democratic email accounts, including those belonging to the Democratic National Committee, the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The charges come as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the presidential election. The indictment does not allege that Trump campaign associates were involved in the hacking efforts or that any American was knowingly in contact with Russian intelligence officers.
The indictment also does not allege that any vote tallies were altered by hacking.
Still, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the internet “allows foreign adversaries to attack Americans in new and unexpected ways. Free and fair elections are hard-fought and contentious and there will always be adversaries who work to exacerbate domestic differences and try to confuse, divide and conquer us.”
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Before Friday, 20 people and three companies had been charged in the Mueller investigation, including four former Trump campaign and White House aides, three of whom have pleaded guilty to different crimes and agreed to cooperate