Recently in Washington, D.C., a federal grand jury resulted in the indictment of thirteen individuals from Russia with fraud and other charges related to the 2016 presidential election. The base of the operations is said to be in St. Petersburg, where the 13 who were indicted worked on a three-year scheme to influence the election. The federal indictment offers a look into the depth of the potential Russian influence, including the number of people hired to sway the election. According to Bennett and Starks from Politico, the operation allegedly: “Sent Russian operatives to the U.S., sought American activists’ advice about targeting swing states, staged rallies on U.S. soil and wielded the United States’ homegrown social media platforms to worsen the country’s racial, religious and political divides.” Below is a roundup of all the important aspects this indictment, including the background of the thirteen individuals, Russia’s response, and how America should react.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/17/world/europe/russians-indicted-mueller.html
Nechepurenko and Schwirtz of the New York Times wrote a detailed piece on the identities of the thirteen individuals indicted. This article provides a thorough account of their backgrounds, as well as the role each of the thirteen played in the operation.
Fox News’ Pappas and Berger give a comprehensive review of the indictment and argues that the indictment, despite showing Russia’s interference, did not affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential race. Fox News also includes commentary from President Trump and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on this indictment.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-weekend-tweetstorm-responds-to-mueller-indictment-1518967910
From the Wall Street Journal, Bykowicz and Hook’s coverage of Trump’s response, mostly on twitter, shows the President’s thoughts of the Mueller Indictment. Trump’s vehement argument against Russia’s influence in the election is demonstrated through this volley of tweets.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/16/mueller-indictment-russia-takeaways-353667
Bennett and Starks of Politico summarize the key takeaways from the Russia indictment in their piece. They include the history of the operation, its links to Putin, how it extends beyond online interference, and the money and human resources it took to execute this scheme.
More on takeaways from this indictment is Tom McCarthy’s roundup in the Guardian, regarding the Internet Research Agency, the St.Petersburg-based group charged with alleged tampering of the election. The detailed acts of espionage are described, such as “[Russian agents] posed as US persons and and contacted US social and political activists” and “Russian impostors on social media used election-related hashtags including ‘#TrumpTrain’ ‘#Trump2016’ ‘MAGA’ and ‘Hillary4Prison.’”
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/politics/russia-denies-us-meddling-intl/index.html
From CNN: Ilyushina, Burrows, and Clarke cover Russia’s response to Special Counsel Mueller’s indictment: dismissal. The article explores Russia’s denial of tampering with the 2016 election, as well as President Trump’s own reaction.
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