In the US, accusations were brought against the Russians in the case of "interference in elections"


WASHINGTON, February 17. / TASS /. On February 16, the US authorities issued official charges against 13 Russian citizens and three Russian organizations in their attempts to interfere in US political processes and the course of the presidential election race in 2016. The indictment, consisting of 37 pages, prepared the apparatus of the special prosecutor Robert Mueller, who conducts an investigation into the allegations of Moscow's influence on the past elections and possible collusion with it of the headquarters of the President of the United States, Donald Trump.

Among those convicted of collusion with the United States are 12 employees of the Agency for Internet Research. The list includes Mikhail Bystrov, Mikhail Burchik, Alexandra Krylova, Anna Bogacheva, Sergei Polozov, Maria Bovda, Robert Bovda, Jeyhun Aslanov, Vadim Podkopaev, Gleb Vasilchenko, Irina Kaverzina and Vladimir Venkov. According to the indictment, the Internet Research Agency, "since 2014, participated in operations to intervene in elections and political processes in the United States."

In addition, Müller charged the Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin with financing anti-American information operations allegedly carried out by the Internet Research Agency. According to the US prosecutor's office, the Internet Research Agency "received funding for its operations from defendant Evgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin and companies controlled by him, including ... Concord Management and Consulting and Concord Catering." The two firms and Prigogine " spent considerable funds "on information operations" of the Internet Research Agency, "says Mueller's apparatus.

No accusations against the authorities of Russia in the published documents are not contained.

"Information war"

"The organization [the Internet Research Agency] sought to lead, as she called it, an" information war against the US ", using for this purpose pages that were open to non-existent US citizens in social networks, as well as online publications," the materials say. Ministry of Justice. According to the authors of the conclusion, the Russians "deliberately and deliberately colluded with each other <...> with the aim of interfering in the presidential elections of 2016". "Posing themselves as Americans, they opened pages in social networks to attract the attention of the audience in the US On these pages, the political and social issues contributing to the split of society were discussed," Muller's employees are convinced.

The team of the special prosecutor is convinced that the "strategic goal" of the Internet Research Agency "was to sow discord in the political system of the United States, including during the presidential elections of 2016". "The accused placed negative information about some presidential candidates in social networks, and by the middle of 2016 their actions included support for the election campaign conducted by Donald Trump and the denigration of Hillary Clinton." The accused carried expenses, including such activities, including buying political advertising for placement in social networks, "- said in conclusion.

It also states that Russians, posing as American citizens, tried to organize political rallies and actions in the US, including the White House, in support of a candidate.

In conclusion, it is also noted that the Americans directly did not consciously take part in the attempts of the Russian Federation to influence the elections in the United States. At the same time, the California resident, who was engaged in illegal sale of information about bank accounts of US residents, admitted his guilt. According to him, he did not know who is delivering these data and how his clients intend to use them.

Russians want to extradite

At a special press conference on Friday, First Deputy Minister of Justice and Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said that Washington intends to seek extradition to the US of Russians accused of trying to influence the US elections. On the question of whether Moscow is ready to extradite 13 citizens of the Russian Federation, who appear in the indictment, Rosenstein replied: "There are no communications with Russians about this." "We will follow the usual procedures, seeking cooperation and extradition," added Rosenstein, who oversees the investigation into the Russian Federation conducted by Mueller's apparatus.

As the representative of the Mueller apparatus Peter Carr later specified, none of those Russians who were charged on Friday are not in custody.

Absurd accusations

The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova on her Facebook page called absurd accusations from Müller against the citizens of Russia.

"They turned out to be 13, according to the US Justice Department, 13 people intervened in the US elections? 13 against billions of dollars in intelligence services, against intelligence and counterintelligence, against the latest developments and technologies? Absurd? Yes. But this is a modern American political reality ", - she wrote.

Trump reaction

President of the United States Donald Trump, departing from Washington to Florida on Friday ignored the journalists' questions about the announcement of the Justice Ministry. Instead, he commented on accusations against Russians in his Twitter. "Russia began its anti-American campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would be elected to the presidency, which did not affect the election results. [Trump's election campaign] did nothing wrong - no collusion," wrote the American leader, trying to present the findings of the special prosecutor as proof of the innocence of himself and his associates.

A slightly more extended comment was later circulated by the White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. According to her, the president "is happy to see that the investigation of the special prosecutor [Robert Mueller] showed - there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia." Sanders also provided additional statements by the owner of the White House. He urged US politicians and society to abandon "wild, false accusations and contrived theories" that supposedly play into the hands of only malicious players such as Russia. "

The Congress Opinion

Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress, in turn, immediately after the announcement of the Justice Ministry rushed to again accuse Russia of interfering in the elections. So, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Paul Ryan stated about the "sinister and systematic attack" of the Russian Federation against the American electoral system. "Today's announcement underscores why we must follow the facts and work to protect the upcoming elections," the statement said.

The chairman of the committee of the lower chamber for intelligence, the Republican Devin Nunez, for his part, once again reproached Russia for "long-running operations against the United States." "It's gratifying to see that the Russian agents participating in them were identified and got under accusation," the politician added.

In turn, the senior Democrat of this committee Adam Schiff expressed disagreement with Trump about the fact that the version of the collusion is now completely refuted. "In the indictment of the special prosecutor there are no conclusions about the collusion or influence of Russian interference in the elections," Schiff wrote on his Twitter, noting that Müller's staff still have to find out if there was any coordination between Trump's team and Moscow.

Link: http://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/4967851