(CNN) — A federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

In addition, three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.

“The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said.

The grand jury had been empaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as any possible connections between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

FBI Director Chris Wray and Rosenstein briefed President Donald Trump on the indictments at the White House on Friday morning, a White House official said.

Beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organization Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 elections, according to the indictment.

The defendants allegedly posed as US persons, created false US personas, and operated social media pages and groups designed to attract US audiences, the indictment reads.

The Internet Research Agency had a “strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system” including the election, according to the indictment.

Russians posted “derogatory information about a number of candidates,” and by mid-2016 they supported Trump and disparaged Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. They bought ads and communicated with “unwitting” people tied to Trump campaign and others to coordinate political activities.

Rosenstein said Friday that the indictment does not contain any allegations that any Americans knowingly participated in the activity.

“There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity,” he said. “There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.”</s>A federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

In addition, three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.

“The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said.

The grand jury had been empaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as any possible connections between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

FBI Director Chris Wray and Rosenstein briefed President Donald Trump on the indictments at the White House on Friday morning, a White House official said.

Beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organization Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 elections, according to the indictment.

The defendants allegedly posed as US persons, created false US personas, and operated social media pages and groups designed to attract US audiences, the indictment reads.

The Internet Research Agency had a “strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system” including the election, according to the indictment.

Russians posted “derogatory information about a number of candidates,” and by mid-2016 they supported Trump and disparaged Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. They bought ads and communicated with “unwitting” people tied to Trump campaign and others to coordinate political activities.

Rosenstein said Friday that the indictment does not contain any allegations that any Americans knowingly participated in the activity.

“There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity,” he said. “There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.”</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Russians recruited 'real Americans' as part of 'information warfare'

Thirteen Russians have been charged with interfering in the US 2016 election, in a major development in the FBI investigation.

Three of those named have also been accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five have been accused of aggravated identity theft.

The charges were made by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged Russian meddling.

Three Russian companies are also named in the indictment.

One of them is the Internet Research Agency, based in St Petersburg, which the 37-page indictment said "had a strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system, including the 2016 US presidential election".

Speaking at a news conference, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said there was no allegation that any American was "a knowing participant in this illegal activity" nor was it alleged that the meddling altered the election outcome.

Mr Trump was briefed on the indictment earlier on Friday, the White House said.

The president later tweeted that his campaign had done "nothing wrong" and again denied colluding with Russia.

He also appeared to acknowledge Russian election meddling - something which he has in the past cast doubt on despite US intelligence agency assessments.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials have repeatedly denied interfering in the US presidential election.

What does the indictment say?

It says a group of Russians:

Posed as Americans, and opened financial accounts in their name

Spent thousands of dollars a month buying political advertising

Purchased US server space in an effort to hide their Russian affiliation

Organised and promoted political rallies within the United States

Posted political messages on social media accounts that impersonated real US citizens

Promoted information that disparaged Hillary Clinton

Received money from clients to post on US social media sites

Created themed groups on social media on hot-button issues, particularly on Facebook and Instagram

Operated with a monthly budget of as much as $1.25m (£890,000)

Financed the building of a cage large enough to hold an actress portraying Hillary Clinton in a prison uniform

The indictment says those involved systematically monitored the success of their internet posts.

It also says those named in the indictment had visited the US posing as American citizens and had begun discussing how to affect the election as early as 2014.

"By 2016, defendants and their co-conspirators used their fictitious online persons to interfere with the 2016 US presidential election," the indictment continues.

"They engaged in operations primarily to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump."

How has Russia reacted?

It called the allegations "absurd".

"Thirteen people interfered with the US elections?" said Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman. "Thirteen against the billion-dollar budgets of the security services? Against espionage and counter-espionage, against new developments and technologies? Absurd? Yes."

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as "Putin's chef", has denied election tampering

One of the men named in the indictment - Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is known as "Putin's chef", denied election tampering.

"The Americans are very impressionable people, they see what they want to see," he was quoted as saying by Russian news agency Ria Novosti on Friday. "I have great respect for them. I'm not at all upset that I'm on this list. If they want to see the devil, let them see him."

Mr Prigozhin has been a friend of Mr Putin since the 1990s. He has built up a business empire and has been accused of using companies to diffuse pro-Kremlin opinions via fake internet identities.

Heat of investigation is increasing

Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

On Friday, Robert Mueller's team released a slate of indictments that lays bare what it asserts is the full shape of the Russian meddling apparatus.

And what an apparatus it was. In the run-up to the US presidential election "Project Lakhta", as it was called, had an operating budget of more than $1m a month.

Russians associated with the organisation travelled to the US, posed as Americans and gathered information on where best to target its attempts to "sow discord" in the US political process. Swing states were identified and efforts, according to the indictment, were made to boost the prospects of Republican Donald Trump and undermine Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Although the indictment does not suggest collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians, it says the meddling effort may have been aided by "unwitting individuals" associated with the Republican nominee.

The White House may breathe a sigh of relief with that particular revelation. But the heat is increasing, and the investigation isn't over yet. At the very least, if Mr Mueller's allegations hold up in court, it will become increasingly difficult for the president to argue that Russian meddling on his behalf is an unsubstantiated hoax.

Read Anthony's key takeaways

What do the social media companies say?

Politicians from both major parties have responded with calls for social media companies to do more to prevent political interference via their platforms.

Facebook said in a statement that it had worked "proactively" with Mr Mueller's investigation, but admitted that it had "more to do to prevent further attacks".

Twitter said the activities were "intolerable" and that it was working with investigators, but that "tech companies cannot defeat this novel, shared threat alone".

What is the investigation about?

US intelligence agencies believe Russia tried to sway the 2016 presidential election in favour of Mr Trump.

In May last year, Mr Mueller was appointed special counsel to investigate whether anyone from his campaign colluded in the effort.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption All you need to know about the Trump-Russia investigation

As part of the inquiry, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has been charged with conspiring to defraud the US in his dealings with Ukraine, and conspiracy to launder money.

A business associate of his, Rick Gates, was also charged with conspiracy to launder money. A third adviser to the Trump campaign, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

This week President Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, was interviewed by Mr Mueller.

Mr Trump has been accused by opponents of trying to interfere with the investigation, which he denies.</s>(CNN) Special counsel Robert Mueller has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

In addition, three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.

"The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said.

Mueller had convened a grand jury as part of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as any possible connections between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

The sweeping indictment describes in detail an unprecedented campaign by Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election, affirming the longstanding conclusions of the US intelligence community. It is at odds with President Donald Trump's repeated questioning of those conclusions, which has continued throughout his first year in office. CNN reported this week that Trump is still not convinced that Russia meddled in the election.

Trump emphasized the lack of allegations of any impact on the presidential election.

"Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President," he tweeted. "The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong - no collusion!"

In a statement, the White House said Trump was fully briefed on the indictment and "is glad to see the Special Counsel's investigation further indicates— that there was NO COLLUSION between the Trump campaign and Russia and that the outcome of the election was not changed or affected."

"(I)t is more important than ever before to come together as Americans," Trump said in the statement. "We cannot allow those seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful. 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."

A White House official told CNN that Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray briefed the President on the indictment at the White House on Friday morning, but the White House later said Wray did not attend the briefing.

Beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organization Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 elections, according to the indictment.

The defendants allegedly posed as US persons, created false US personas and operated social media pages and groups designed to attract US audiences, the indictment reads. Two of the Russians also allegedly traveled to the United States in 2014 to gather intelligence for their operations.

The Internet Research Agency had a "strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system" including the election, according to the indictment.

Russians posted "derogatory information about a number of candidates," according to the indictment. They bought ads and communicated with "unwitting" people tied to the Trump campaign and others in order to coordinate political activities.

The indictment mentions a February 2016 memo to Internet Research Agency staff telling them to post political content on US social media sites and "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump — we support them)." The reference to Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who challenged Clinton for the Democratic nomination, shows that the Russian government decided early on to oppose Clinton.

Twelve of the 13 defendants charged worked for the Internet Research Agency.

Rosenstein said Friday that the indictment does not contain any allegations that any Americans knowingly participated in the activity.

"There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity," he said. "There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election."

Rosenstein added that the special counsel's investigation is ongoing.

Despite Rosenstein's caveat, the indictment does detail communications between unnamed Trump campaign officials and the Russian defendants.

The three campaign officials, identified only as campaign officials 1, 2 and 3, were involved in the Trump campaign's Florida operation, the indictment says. On at least three occasions, as detailed in the indictment, American personas created by the defendants wrote to the campaign officials, in some instances about rallies they were organizing.

In one instance, a Russian persona wrote to one Florida campaign official identifying 13 "confirmed locations" where they would be holding rallies in the state and asked the campaign to provide "assistance in each location," according to the indictment.

The indictment does not say whether the unnamed campaign officials ever responded to the Russian personas.

According to the indictment, the Russians created an email address, allforusa@yahoo.com, to purport to be a US person in order to send out press releases in June 2016 for a "March for Trump" rally to New York media outlets.

The defendants allegedly used a Facebook account belonging to a fictitious person named Matt Skiber, posing as an American to contact a real US citizen to act as a recruiter for the rally, even offering money to print posters and buy a megaphone.

The advertisements weren't limited to Trump. They also allegedly purchased ads on Facebook to promote "Support Hillary. Save American Muslims" rally to allege Clinton was supporting Islamic law. They also allegedly bought ads to promote a "Down with Hillary" rally.

The defendants focused on key purple states during the election. The Skiber account allegedly sent a private message to a real Facebook account, "Florida for Trump," to offer support. They also allegedly used a stolen identity of a real US citizen to email grassroots groups in Florida.

The defendants allegedly attempted to cover their tracks after social media companies, including Facebook, publicly disclosed in September 2017 that they had identified Russians purchasing political and social advertisements on its platform and after media reports noted the company was cooperating with the special counsel's investigation.

"We have a slight crisis here at work: the FBI busted our activity (not a joke). So, I got preoccupied with covering tracks together with colleagues," one of the defendants wrote, according to the indictment.

Prigozhin said he was "not at all upset" he was named in the indictment.

"Americans are very impressionable people, they see what they want to see," Prigozhin told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. "I have great respect for them. I'm not at all upset that I'm on this list. If they want to see the devil, let them see one."

The indictment also alleges that some of the defendants traveled to the United States to "gather intelligence." Over a three week trip in June 2014, two of the named defendants made stops in at least seven states, including Colorado, Michigan, Texas and New York, the indictment says.

The defendants took extensive precautions on travel to the United States, the indictment alleges. They "planned travel itineraries, purchased equipment (such as cameras, SIM cards, and drop phones), and discussed security measures (including 'evacuation scenarios')," it says.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the indictment Friday as "absurd."

"(Thirteen) people intervened in the elections in the US?" she wrote on her Facebook page. "13 against billion-dollar budgets of special services? Against intelligence and counterintelligence, against the latest developments and technologies? ... Absurd? Yes."

"This is modern American political reality," she added in the post.

Facebook's vice president of global policy, Joel Kaplan, said in a statement that the company has "more to do to prevent against future attacks. We're making significant investments, including increasing the number of people working on security from 10,000 to 20,000 this year. We're also continuing to work closely with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other companies on better ways to protect our country and the people on our platform."

"We're committed to staying ahead of this kind of deceptive and malevolent activity going forward," Kaplan added.

House Speaker Paul Ryan called the Russians' alleged actions "a conspiracy to subvert the process, and take aim at democracy itself."

"We have known that Russians meddled in the election, but these indictments detail the extent of the subterfuge," Ryan said in a statement. "These Russians engaged in a sinister and systematic attack on our political system. It was a conspiracy to subvert the process, and take aim at democracy itself. Today's announcement underscores why we need to follow the facts and work to protect the integrity of future elections."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that the indictments "make absolutely clear" that Russians tried to influence the presidential election to support Trump's campaign and continue to try to interfere with our elections.

"We are on the eve of the 2018 midterm elections," the statement added. "There is no time to waste to defend the integrity of our elections and our democracy."

Former CIA Director John Brennan said he thought the actions alleged in the indictments would have influenced some US voters, going further than the stated position of the US intelligence community.

"DOJ statement and indictments reveal the extent and motivations of Russian interference in 2016 election," Brennan tweeted. "Claims of a 'hoax' in tatters. My take: Implausible that Russian actions did not influence the views and votes of at least some Americans."

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, said in a statement that he is "glad" to see the committee's work "vindicated" by the indictments.

"With this indictment, the Special Counsel and his team have taken an important step to hold Russia accountable," Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said Friday.

"The administration needs to be far more vigilant in protecting the 2018 elections, and alert the American public any time the Russians attempt to interfere," Schumer said.

Clinton, through her spokesman, Nick Merrill, declined to comment on the indictments, but Merrill said the indictments "confirm what we've long known. Time will tell us more, but Russia went to great lengths to undermine our democracy, and the President won't protect us. No matter your politics, it's un-American. We have an adversary that is laughing at us, who will act again."

Robby Mook, Clinton's former campaign manager, tweeted: "The intelligence community has repeatedly told us Russia meddled. Now criminal indictments from DOJ. We were attacked by a foreign adversary. Will our Congress and President stand strong and take action? Or let it happen again?"</s>
• In a tweet on Friday, President Donald Trump defended himself against allegations of collusion with Russians during the 2016 presidential race.
• Trump posted the tweet in response to the Justice Department's indictments of 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian entities involved in sowing political discord in the US before the 2016 election.
• Trump said the indictments are further evidence that there was "no collusion."



President Donald Trump insisted his presidential campaign had nothing to do with the Russian nationals and organizations indicted by the US Department of Justice on Friday for interfering in the 2016 election.

"Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President," Trump said in a tweet. "The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong - no collusion!"

Earlier on Friday, special counsel Robert Mueller's office charged three Russian entities and 13 Russian nationals with "violating US criminal laws in order to interfere with US elections and political processes."

The White House said Trump was briefed on the matter and "was glad to see the Special Counsel's investigation further indicates—that there was NO COLLUSION between the Trump campaign and Russia and that the outcome of the election was not changed or affected."

Mueller's investigation is ongoing and has not concluded that there was no collusion between Trump officials and the Russian government. But so far, there has been little evidence to support claims of collusion.

"We cannot allow those seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful," Trump added in a statement. "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 charges brought by the Justice Department were directed primarily at the Internet Research Agency (IRA), an infamous Russian "troll factory" that focused on sowing political discord during the 2016 race by using internet bots to spread fake news and pro-Trump propaganda on Facebook, Twitter, and other social-media platforms.

The 13 Russian nationals charged were indicted for working in "various capacities to carry out" the agency's "interference operations targeting the United States."</s>WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

In addition, three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.

“The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said.

The grand jury had been empaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as any possible connections between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

FBI Director Chris Wray and Rosenstein briefed President Donald Trump on the indictments at the White House on Friday morning, a White House official said.

Beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organization Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 elections, according to the indictment.

The defendants allegedly posed as US persons, created false US personas, and operated social media pages and groups designed to attract US audiences, the indictment reads.

The Internet Research Agency had a “strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system” including the election, according to the indictment.

Russians posted “derogatory information about a number of candidates,” and by mid-2016 they supported Trump and disparaged Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. They bought ads and communicated with “unwitting” people tied to Trump campaign and others to coordinate political activities.

Rosenstein said Friday that the indictment does not contain any allegations that any Americans knowingly participated in the activity.

“There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity,” he said. “There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.”</s>(CNN) Special counsel Robert Mueller has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

In addition, three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.

"The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said.

Mueller had convened a grand jury as part of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as any possible connections between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

The sweeping indictment describes in detail an unprecedented campaign by Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election, affirming the longstanding conclusions of the US intelligence community. It is at odds with President Donald Trump's repeated questioning of those conclusions, which has continued throughout his first year in office. CNN reported this week that Trump is still not convinced that Russia meddled in the election.

Trump emphasized the lack of allegations of any impact on the presidential election.

"Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President," he tweeted. "The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong - no collusion!"

In a statement, the White House said Trump was fully briefed on the indictment and "is glad to see the Special Counsel's investigation further indicates— that there was NO COLLUSION between the Trump campaign and Russia and that the outcome of the election was not changed or affected."

"(I)t is more important than ever before to come together as Americans," Trump said in the statement. "We cannot allow those seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful. 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."

A White House official told CNN that Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray briefed the President on the indictment at the White House on Friday morning, but the White House later said Wray did not attend the briefing.

Indictment details

Beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organization Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 elections, according to the indictment.

The defendants allegedly posed as US persons, created false US personas and operated social media pages and groups designed to attract US audiences, the indictment reads. Two of the Russians also allegedly traveled to the United States in 2014 to gather intelligence for their operations.

The Internet Research Agency had a "strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system" including the election, according to the indictment.

Russians posted "derogatory information about a number of candidates," according to the indictment. They bought ads and communicated with "unwitting" people tied to the Trump campaign and others in order to coordinate political activities.

The indictment mentions a February 2016 memo to Internet Research Agency staff telling them to post political content on US social media sites and "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump — we support them)." The reference to Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who challenged Clinton for the Democratic nomination, shows that the Russian government decided early on to oppose Clinton.

Twelve of the 13 defendants charged worked for the Internet Research Agency.

Rosenstein said Friday that the indictment does not contain any allegations that any Americans knowingly participated in the activity.

"There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity," he said. "There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election."

Rosenstein added that the special counsel's investigation is ongoing.

Despite Rosenstein's caveat, the indictment does detail communications between unnamed Trump campaign officials and the Russian defendants.

The three campaign officials, identified only as campaign officials 1, 2 and 3, were involved in the Trump campaign's Florida operation, the indictment says. On at least three occasions, as detailed in the indictment, American personas created by the defendants wrote to the campaign officials, in some instances about rallies they were organizing.

In one instance, a Russian persona wrote to one Florida campaign official identifying 13 "confirmed locations" where they would be holding rallies in the state and asked the campaign to provide "assistance in each location," according to the indictment.

The indictment does not say whether the unnamed campaign officials ever responded to the Russian personas.

Social media tactics

According to the indictment, the Russians created an email address, allforusa@yahoo.com, to purport to be a US person in order to send out press releases in June 2016 for a "March for Trump" rally to New York media outlets.

The defendants allegedly used a Facebook account belonging to a fictitious person named Matt Skiber, posing as an American to contact a real US citizen to act as a recruiter for the rally, even offering money to print posters and buy a megaphone.

The advertisements weren't limited to Trump. They also allegedly purchased ads on Facebook to promote "Support Hillary. Save American Muslims" rally to allege Clinton was supporting Islamic law. They also allegedly bought ads to promote a "Down with Hillary" rally.

The defendants focused on key purple states during the election. The Skiber account allegedly sent a private message to a real Facebook account, "Florida for Trump," to offer support. They also allegedly used a stolen identity of a real US citizen to email grassroots groups in Florida.

The defendants allegedly attempted to cover their tracks after social media companies, including Facebook, publicly disclosed in September 2017 that they had identified Russians purchasing political and social advertisements on its platform and after media reports noted the company was cooperating with the special counsel's investigation.

"We have a slight crisis here at work: the FBI busted our activity (not a joke). So, I got preoccupied with covering tracks together with colleagues," one of the defendants wrote, according to the indictment.

One of the named defendants, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is a Russian oligarch who has been dubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin's "chef" by the Russian press. According to the indictment, Prigozhin controlled Concord Catering, a group that funded the Internet Research Agency. By around September 2016, the indictment says, the Internet Research Agency's monthly budget for the project that included the US election interference operation exceeded 73 million Russian rubles, or over $1.25 million.

Prigozhin said he was "not at all upset" he was named in the indictment.

"Americans are very impressionable people, they see what they want to see," Prigozhin told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. "I have great respect for them. I'm not at all upset that I'm on this list. If they want to see the devil, let them see one."

The indictment also alleges that some of the defendants traveled to the United States to "gather intelligence." Over a three week trip in June 2014, two of the named defendants made stops in at least seven states, including Colorado, Michigan, Texas and New York, the indictment says.

The defendants took extensive precautions on travel to the United States, the indictment alleges. They "planned travel itineraries, purchased equipment (such as cameras, SIM cards, and drop phones), and discussed security measures (including 'evacuation scenarios')," it says.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the indictment Friday as "absurd."

"(Thirteen) people intervened in the elections in the US?" she wrote on her Facebook page. "13 against billion-dollar budgets of special services? Against intelligence and counterintelligence, against the latest developments and technologies? ... Absurd? Yes."

"This is modern American political reality," she added in the post.

Facebook's vice president of global policy, Joel Kaplan, said in a statement that the company has "more to do to prevent against future attacks. We're making significant investments, including increasing the number of people working on security from 10,000 to 20,000 this year. We're also continuing to work closely with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other companies on better ways to protect our country and the people on our platform."

"We're committed to staying ahead of this kind of deceptive and malevolent activity going forward," Kaplan added.

Congressional reaction

House Speaker Paul Ryan called the Russians' alleged actions "a conspiracy to subvert the process, and take aim at democracy itself."

"We have known that Russians meddled in the election, but these indictments detail the extent of the subterfuge," Ryan said in a statement. "These Russians engaged in a sinister and systematic attack on our political system. It was a conspiracy to subvert the process, and take aim at democracy itself. Today's announcement underscores why we need to follow the facts and work to protect the integrity of future elections."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that the indictments "make absolutely clear" that Russians tried to influence the presidential election to support Trump's campaign and continue to try to interfere with our elections.

"We are on the eve of the 2018 midterm elections," the statement added. "There is no time to waste to defend the integrity of our elections and our democracy."

Former CIA Director John Brennan said he thought the actions alleged in the indictments would have influenced some US voters, going further than the stated position of the US intelligence community.

"DOJ statement and indictments reveal the extent and motivations of Russian interference in 2016 election," Brennan tweeted. "Claims of a 'hoax' in tatters. My take: Implausible that Russian actions did not influence the views and votes of at least some Americans."

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, said in a statement that he is "glad" to see the committee's work "vindicated" by the indictments.

"With this indictment, the Special Counsel and his team have taken an important step to hold Russia accountable," Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said Friday.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that given the indictments, Trump should "immediately" implement the Russia sanctions that Congress passed last summer to punish Moscow for its election meddling.

"The administration needs to be far more vigilant in protecting the 2018 elections, and alert the American public any time the Russians attempt to interfere," Schumer said.

Clinton, through her spokesman, Nick Merrill, declined to comment on the indictments, but Merrill said the indictments "confirm what we've long known. Time will tell us more, but Russia went to great lengths to undermine our democracy, and the President won't protect us. No matter your politics, it's un-American. We have an adversary that is laughing at us, who will act again."

Robby Mook, Clinton's former campaign manager, tweeted: "The intelligence community has repeatedly told us Russia meddled. Now criminal indictments from DOJ. We were attacked by a foreign adversary. Will our Congress and President stand strong and take action? Or let it happen again?"</s>Thirteen Russians and three Russian entities were charged Friday with an elaborate plot to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election, federal prosecutors announced Friday. The indictment, brought by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, alleges that Russians used bogus social media postings and advertisements fraudulently purchased in the name of Americans to sway political opinion during the race between Republican Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent.

The charges are the most direct allegation to date of illegal Russian meddling in the election.The goal, the indictment says, was to “sow discord in the US political system, including the 2016 presidential election.”

Charges include conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.The charges arise from Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the election and whether there was improper coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Before Friday, four people, including Trump’s former national security adviser and former campaign chairman, had been charged in Mueller’s investigation.The White House had no immediate response to the indictment.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>WASHINGTON– Special counsel Robert Mueller has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States,the Department of Justice has announced.

In addition, three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.

Mueller has been investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as any connections between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

Beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organization Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 elections, according to the indictment, which was released by Mueller’s office Friday.

The defendants allegedly posed as US persons, created false US personas, and operated social media pages and groups designed to attract US audiences, the indictment reads.

The Internet Research Agency had a “strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system” including the election, according to the indictment.

Russians posted “derogatory information about a number of candidates,” and by mid-2016 they supported Trump and disparaged Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. They bought ads and communicated with “unwitting” people tied to Trump campaign and others to coordinate political activities.</s>In September 2017, Facebook announced that it had uncovered approximately $100,000 in fraudulent ad spending. This shed light on a little known but influential Russian company known as the Internet Research Agency, purportedly behind the ads that may have helped shape the 2016 U.S. election.

And now, a federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian entities accused of violating U.S. law for interfering in U.S. elections, including the Internet Research Agency.

In the indictment, the Internet Research Agency is defined as a "Russian organization engaged in operations to interfere with elections and political processes."

According to a 2015 New York Times story on the agency, it employs "hundreds of Russians to post pro-Kremlin propaganda online under fake identities." Reports have described the firm as a "troll farm."

Collins Dictionary defines a troll farm as an "organization whose employees or members attempt to create conflict and disruption in an online community by posting deliberately inflammatory or provocative comments."

According to a source familiar with the social network's thinking, Facebook's research links its September findings back to the Internet Research Agency.

In early September, Facebook's Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos wrote the company "found approximately $100,000 in ad spending from June of 2015 to May of 2017 — associated with roughly 3,000 ads — that was connected to about 470 inauthentic accounts and Pages in violation of our policies. Our analysis suggests these accounts and Pages were affiliated with one another and likely operated out of Russia."

Additionally, Facebook said it found approximately $50,000 in "potentially politically related ad spending," was spent on approximately 2,200 ads.

The Internet Research Agency's potential involvement with the fraudulent Facebook ad spending was first reported in September by both The New York Times and The Washington Post.

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In an unclassifed report in January 2017, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence mentioned the potential involvement by the Internet Research Agency in the 2016 U.S. election.

"A journalist who is a leading expert on the Internet Research Agency claimed that some social media accounts that appear to be tied to Russia’s professional trolls—because they previously were devoted to supporting Russian actions in Ukraine—started to advocate for President-elect Trump as early as December 2015," the report read.

The report also mentioned that the financial backer of the Internet Research Agency may have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The likely financier of the so-called Internet Research Agency of professional trolls located in Saint Petersburg is a close Putin ally with ties to Russian intelligence," it said.

According to a transcript with a former Internet Research Agency employee that has been translated, the trolls are hard at work, leaving their crumbs around the internet.

"It was necessary to write 126 comments under the posts of people who wrote them inside this building," Anton N. (not his real name) told Radio Liberty. "And somewhere around 25 - on the pages of living people, so that someone will pay attention to you. And the [blog] posts needed to write ten. Recently a friend told me that now it is necessary to write twelve [posts]."

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This is not the first time the Internet Research Agency has been in the spotlight.

According to The Washington Post, hackers released internal company records detailing that it employed 600 people in Russia in 2013.

A 2015 BBC article highlighted the Internet Research Agency's involvement during Russia's conflict in the Ukraine.

Eric Feinberg, a founding partner of deep web analysis company GIPEC, told Fox News last year that he was not surprised by Facebook’s discovery. “I am not surprised that nefarious enterprises are using Facebook Advertising to spread fake information since Facebook does little to verify who is signing up for a Facebook Account and who is buying ads," Feinberg wrote via email.

A version of this story originally ran on Sept. 7, 2017. Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia
Thirteen Russian nationals from the Internet Research Agency are indicted by a grand jury on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.