AFP, Washington :
US President Donald Trump on Friday held up the indictment of 13 Russians-and no Americans-for meddling in the 2016 election as vindication that his campaign team did not collude with Moscow.
“Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for president,” Trump tweeted, pointing to details of the indictment as evidence of his name being cleared. “The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion!” US Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted the 13 Russian nationals, as well as three companies, for running a secret campaign to tilt the presidential election.
The unsealed indictment details a stunning operation that began in 2014 and aimed to sow social division inside the United States, and influence its politics including the 2016 vote.
Trump has repeatedly dismissed claims of Russian interference as “fake news” designed to take away from his election victory over Hillary Clinton.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the indictments contained “no allegation” that any American was a knowing participant in the meddling, and said there was no judgment on whether the election outcome was affected.
In a separate White House statement reacting to the indictments, Trump urged his fellow citizens to “unite as Americans to protect the integrity of our democracy and our elections.”
“We cannot allow those seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful,” Trump was quoted as saying. “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.”
The Russian effort to meddle in the 2016 presidential elections spanned at least two countries and multiple states and included fake rallies, false identities and divisive slogans intended to magnify Trump’s message and undermine Clinton’s candidacy, according to a 37-page indictment of a notorious Russian troll farm announced by the Justice Department’s special counsel.
For years, President Donald Trump pushed back against the idea of election meddling, dismissing it as a hoax and an affront to the legitimacy of his victory.
Now, in a 37-page indictment, special counsel Robert Muller has laid bare in excruciating detail the details of one Russian scheme, designed in part to benefit Trump’s election run. It even shows contacts between foreigners and his campaign, albeit unwitting.
Trump quickly seized on the fact that the Russian “information warfare” effort, as it was dubbed by a top Justice Department official, began in 2014, before he declared his candidacy for president. His team noted that the Russian efforts to sow discord are also said to have benefited Bernie Sanders. And with great fanfare, the president declared that the indictment proved, as he has always said, that there was “no collusion” between his campaign and the Russians.
His cheers of vindication Friday appeared to be more show than substance: The administration still harbors deep worries about the direction of Mueller’s nine-month probe, which has shown no signs of abating and has expanded to explore potential obstruction of justice on the part of the president and his top aides.
“Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President,” Trump tweeted after the indictment was unveiled. “The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion.”
US President Donald Trump on Friday held up the indictment of 13 Russians-and no Americans-for meddling in the 2016 election as vindication that his campaign team did not collude with Moscow.
“Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for president,” Trump tweeted, pointing to details of the indictment as evidence of his name being cleared. “The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion!” US Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted the 13 Russian nationals, as well as three companies, for running a secret campaign to tilt the presidential election.
The unsealed indictment details a stunning operation that began in 2014 and aimed to sow social division inside the United States, and influence its politics including the 2016 vote.
Trump has repeatedly dismissed claims of Russian interference as “fake news” designed to take away from his election victory over Hillary Clinton.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the indictments contained “no allegation” that any American was a knowing participant in the meddling, and said there was no judgment on whether the election outcome was affected.
In a separate White House statement reacting to the indictments, Trump urged his fellow citizens to “unite as Americans to protect the integrity of our democracy and our elections.”
“We cannot allow those seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful,” Trump was quoted as saying. “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.”
The Russian effort to meddle in the 2016 presidential elections spanned at least two countries and multiple states and included fake rallies, false identities and divisive slogans intended to magnify Trump’s message and undermine Clinton’s candidacy, according to a 37-page indictment of a notorious Russian troll farm announced by the Justice Department’s special counsel.
For years, President Donald Trump pushed back against the idea of election meddling, dismissing it as a hoax and an affront to the legitimacy of his victory.
Now, in a 37-page indictment, special counsel Robert Muller has laid bare in excruciating detail the details of one Russian scheme, designed in part to benefit Trump’s election run. It even shows contacts between foreigners and his campaign, albeit unwitting.
Trump quickly seized on the fact that the Russian “information warfare” effort, as it was dubbed by a top Justice Department official, began in 2014, before he declared his candidacy for president. His team noted that the Russian efforts to sow discord are also said to have benefited Bernie Sanders. And with great fanfare, the president declared that the indictment proved, as he has always said, that there was “no collusion” between his campaign and the Russians.
His cheers of vindication Friday appeared to be more show than substance: The administration still harbors deep worries about the direction of Mueller’s nine-month probe, which has shown no signs of abating and has expanded to explore potential obstruction of justice on the part of the president and his top aides.
“Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President,” Trump tweeted after the indictment was unveiled. “The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders followed minutes later with a statement echoing the “no collusion” claim in capital letters.
