5 Things to Know About the Russia Investigation, Mueller Indictments, Trump Collusion
2. 13 Russians, 3 Russian entities have been indicted.
Special Counsel Mueller, who was appointed last year to spearhead the investigation, indicted 13 Russian individuals and three entities, the Justice Department said Friday. They were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States; three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five were charged 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," said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
The indictment offers a detailed explanation as to how the the Russians created fake email addresses and social media accounts to organize marches for Trump. They also purchased ads on Facebook, some of which were pro-Trump while others supported Hillary Clinton.
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Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, whom the Russian press calls Vladmir Putin's "chef," controls a company that funded an entity behind much of the meddling. 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," he told Russian state news outlet 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."
