Russians indicted over election interference

UPDATE: President Donald Trump tweeted Friday afternoon that indictments against Russians for interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election showed “The Trump campaign did nothing wrong—no collusion!” The effort to influence the election by spreading propaganda online began in 2014, long before Trump declared his candidacy for president, he noted. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Friday there was no evidence any Americans knowingly partcipated in the election meddling, though one California man has pleaded guilty to unwittingly furnishing Russian operatives with bank accounts. Richard Pinedo of Santa Paula is accused of using stolen identities to set up the accounts, which Russians used to purchase social media ads and posts. Pinedo at the time didn’t know he was working with Russians, a Justice Department spokeswoman said.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (1:41 p.m.): A federal grand jury has charged 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for crimes related to interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Russian operation “included supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump,” according to prosecutors. The charges stem from information gathered by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the election and possible ties to the Trump campaign. According to the indictment, the Internet Research Agency and others posed as Americans online “for purposes of interfering with the U.S. political system.” The Russians face charges of violating U.S. campaign finance laws, conspiracy, identity theft, and failing to register as agents of a foreign government. The charges do not include any claim the Russians altered the outcome of the election.