BREAKING: DOJ says a criminal complaint has been unsealed charging a Russian national for her alleged role in a Russian conspiracy to interfere in the US political system, including the 2018 midterms.
DOJ says Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, 44, of St. Petersburg, Russia, was a key player in something called “Project Lakhta,”which the government calls a Russian umbrella effort funded by oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin.
DOJ says Khusyaynova helped conduct “information warfare against the United States" designed to spread distrust towards candidates for U.S. political office and the U.S. political system in general.
Among the issues the covert Russian social media effort sought to stoke discontent around were immigration, gun control and the Second Amendment, the Confederate flag, race relations, LGBT issues, the Women’s March, and the NFL national anthem debate, says DOJ.
DOJ says Russian trolls wrote on topics from sometimes opposing perspectives. Conspirators were directed, among other things, to create “political intensity through supporting radical groups” and to “aggravate the conflict between minorities and the rest of the population.”
Two enormous caveats to pay attention to in the DOJ announcement today: 1. "The criminal complaint does not include any allegation that Khusyaynova or the broader conspiracy had any effect on the outcome of an election."
2. "The complaint also does not allege that any American knowingly participated in the Project Lakhta operation."
DOJ also goes out of its way here to praise Facebook and @Twitter for "exceptional cooperation" with the investigation.
Read the entire document, including specific examples of memes and posts the Russians allegedly used. Some social media posts praised President Trump, others attacked Republicans on issues like gun control: justice.gov/opa/press-rele…
IRONY ALERT: Russians allegedly took to Twitter after Special Counsel's office indicted Russians in Feb. One post PRAISED Special Counsel + ATTACKED President Trump, writing: "Still think this Russia thing is a hoax and a witch hunt? Because a lot of witches just got indicted."
Russian troll McCain strategy:"Brand McCain as an old geezer who has lost it and who long ago belonged in a home for the elderly. Emphasize that John McCain's pathological hatred towards Donald Trump and towards all his initiatives crosses all reasonable borders and limits."(DOJ)
Russian troll @SpeakerRyan strategy: "Brand Paul Ryan a complete and absolute nobody incapable of any decisiveness."
Russian troll Mitch McConnell strategy: "It's time for Mitch McConnell (leader of the Senate Republicans) to retire. Show solid support for the news anchor [Lou Dobbs, who said it was time to 'Ditch Mitch.']"
