FBI charge 13 Russians over US poll rigging
Troll army used to harm Clinton, alleges Mueller
A RUSSIAN government agency employed 1000 online trolls in a complex campaign to destabilise the 2016 American presidential election, it was alleged yesterday.
The Russian Internet Agency – alongside two other companies and 13 Russian nationals – were named in bombshell indictments from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation team.
It is alleged they coordinated an effort to support Donald Trump and trash Hillary Clinton.
The agency – known as Glasvet – is alleged to have used fake online accounts to push divisive messages and staged fake political rallies with Russians posing as Americans.
In one incident, Russians allegedly wired money to an American to cover the cost of building “a cage large enough to hold an actress depicting Clinton in a prison uniform”.
The 37-page indictment says Glasvet “had a strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system, including the 2016 presidential race”.
It alleges: “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 broadly echoes the conclusions of a 2017 intelligence assessment which found Russia had meddled in the election and its goals eventually included aiding Trump.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump has never unequivocally accepted that report.
He has denounced Mueller’s probe into whether his campaign colluded with the Kremlin as a “witch hunt.”
On Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said he had already seen evidence Russia was targeting US elections due to take place this November. Control of the House and the Senate are at stake in the crucial votes.