Friday’s indictment of 13 Russian nationals and three organizations answers some of the bigger outstanding legal and factual questions surrounding Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election. But a number remain unanswered, including the most obvious: Were Trump campaign officials involved, or Donald Trump himself? The indictment does not answer that question.
If the allegations in the indictment are true, it would certainly dispel any lingering doubts about whether Russians interfered with the election. The scope of the alleged efforts to tip the election toward Trump, and otherwise to meddle in U.S. politics — both before and after the election — is breathtaking. We may never know whether the outcome of the election was actually affected (contrary to what Trump claims, the indictment doesn’t answer that question either), but the charges provide a devastating account of the extent off Russian efforts.
The indictment also resolves any debate over whether colluding to influence the election could be criminal. The president’s supporters have frequently claimed that, even if campaign officials did collude with Russians to impact the election, it would just be politics-as-usual, and not a crime.
Source : washingtonpost
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