Quincy News: Federal grand jury indicts twelve Russian spies for 2016 election hacking

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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announcing latest indictments
A Leah Millis/Reuters image
– News from elsewhere covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

Federal grand jury indicts twelve Russian spies for 2016 election hacking.

A federal grand jury today on a Friday the Thirteen indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers on charges of hacking the computer networks of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party.

Vlad – we may have a problem …
An Evan Vucci/AP image
The indictment, secured by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his investigation of Russian involvement in the 2016 election, was issued three days before United States President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin for a summit in Helsinki Finland.

The indictments make up the most detailed accusation yet that Russia meddled in the election with the eventual aim of trying to boost Republican Trump’s campaign. Russia denies interfering.

FYI: not my (direct, ed.) doing
An Alex Brandon/AP photo
“The indictment charges 12 Russian military officers by name with conspiring to interfere with the 2016 presidential election,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told a news conference.

Rosenstein also said he briefed Trump earlier this week on the indictment.

He further said there is no allegation that U.S. citizens were involved in the alleged crimes described in the indictment.

Formerly anonymous hackers
A file photo
Officers of Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, “in their official capacities engaged in a sustained effort to hack into the computer networks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee and the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton,” a Justice Department news release said.

It said the officers then “released that information on the internet under the names DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0.”

Mueller heading into court
Image via NBC News
Mueller is investigating whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia and whether the president has unlawfully sought to obstruct the Russia investigation.

In February, Mueller charged 13 Russians and three Russian companies in an elaborate conspiracy to interfere in the election. That indictment alleged that these Russians had adopted false online personas to push divisive messages, traveled to the United States to collect intelligence and staged political rallies while posing as Americans.

Mueller has also secured indictments against several former Trump campaign aides, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and former White House national security advisor Michael Flynn.