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A Russian Internet agency and more than a dozen Russians interfered in the US election campaign from 2014 through 2016 in a multi-pronged effort with the aim of supporting then-businessman Donald Trump and disparaging his rival Hillary Clinton, the US Special Counsel said in an indictment on 16 February.
The 37-page indictment filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller described a conspiracy to disrupt the US election by people who adopted false online personas to push divisive messages; traveled to the United States to collect intelligence; and staged political rallies while posing as Americans.
"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 added.
The indictment broadly echoes the conclusions of a January 2017 US intelligence community assessment, which found that Russia had meddled in the election, and that its goals eventually included aiding Trump.
President Trump has been briefed on the indictment announced on Friday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.
Facebook and Twitter both declined to comment on the indictment.
Meanwhile, US House democratic leader Pelosi says Mueller's indictments make Russian interference in US 2016 election "absolutely clear". The court document appeared likely to provide ammunition to Democrats and others arguing for a continued aggressive probe of the matter.
The alleged Russian interference had no impact on the results of the 2016 US presidential elections, President Donald Trump has said in response, reports PTI.
Speaking out against the indictment, Trump reportedly urged Americans to unite and fight against those "seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful", the report adds. “It’s time we stop the outlandish partisan attacks, wild and false allegations, and far-fetched theories, which only serve to further the agendas of bad actors, like Russia, and do nothing to protect the principles of our institutions. We must unite as Americans to protect the integrity of our democracy and our elections,” Trump reportedly said.
Following the return of the indictments by a federal grand juries, both the Democrats and Republicans reportedly stated that this vindicated their respective stands, with Democratic Senator Mark Warner saying that the indictment was an “important step to hold Russia accountable,” PTI reports.
Speaking about a “sophisticated attack” on American Democracy, Senator Dianne Feinstein said: “Unfortunately, President Trump's lack of leadership in this area is becoming an issue of national security. He needs to stop denying that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and mobilise a robust federal response,” the report adds.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats also told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that he had already seen evidence Russia was targeting US elections in November, when Republican control of the House of Representatives and Senate are at stake, plus a host of positions in state governments.
Russia would try to interfere in the 2018 US midterm elections by using social media to spread propaganda and misleading reports, much as it did in the 2016 campaign, intelligence chiefs said at the hearing.
Allegations by the United States that Russian nationals interfered in US elections are absurd, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.
Russian businessman Evgeny Prigozhin said on Friday he was not upset about his indictment for alleged election meddling in United States, RIA news agency reported.
US stocks rose for a sixth straight session on Friday, putting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on course for their best week in more than six years, strengthening Wall Street's rebound from a brutal selloff earlier this month.
The markets gave up a chunk of the gains after US Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office said a US federal grand jury indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities accused of interfering with US elections and political processes.
(With inputs from PTI and Reuters)
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