CBS News' Paula Reid, Jeff Pegues and Rebecca Shabad contributed to this report.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced Friday the indictment of Russian nationals and entities accused of breaking U.S. laws to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. The defendants conducted information warfare against the U.S., Rosenstein announced Friday. Twelve of the individual defendants worked at various times for Internet Research Agency, based in St. Petersburg, he added.
They set up a virtual private network in the U.S. - making it appear that the social media accounts they were using were controlled by people in the U.S., Rosenstein said.
There's no allegation that any American was knowingly involved in the conspiracy, Rosenstein said. Nor was there an allegation that the efforts of the defendants affected the outcome of the election. The indictment, he told reporters, is a reminder that "people are not always who they appear to be." He said the defendants wanted to undermine confidence in our democracy.
Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray briefed President Trump on the indictments Friday, CBS News' Major Garrett reports, according to two sources familiar with the talks. They told him that that the indictments did not allege cooperation or collusion with Trump campaign.
Source : cbsnews
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