The office of U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged 13
Russians and three Russian companies, including St. Petersburg-based
Internet Research Agency known for its trolling on social media. The
official who oversees Mueller’s work said the investigation was not
finished.
The court document said those accused “had a
strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including
the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”
The indictment
said Russians adopted false online personas to push divisive messages;
traveled to the United States to collect intelligence, visiting 10
states; and staged political rallies while posing as Americans. In one
case, it said, the Russians paid an unidentified person to build a cage
aboard a flatbed truck and another to wear a costume “portraying Clinton
in a prison uniform.”
The surprise 37-page indictment
could alter the divisive U.S. domestic debate over Russia’s meddling,
undercutting some Republicans who, along with Trump, have attacked
Mueller’s investigation.
According to a source familiar with the indictments, Pinedo
is the person cited in the document as helping the Russian conspirators
launder money, as well as purchase Facebook ads and pay for rally
supplies, through PayPal Holdings Inc..
Pinedo’s
attorney, Jeremy I. Lessem, said in a statement that “Mr. Pinedo had
absolutely no knowledge of the identities and motivations of any of the
purchasers of the information he provided.”
Source : reuters
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