Mueller Indicts 13 Russian Bot Makers He Can't Get His Hands On, But It's More Than A Show

Indictment says the Russians were trying to help the Trump campaign, but does not allege that Trump cooperated.

The Mueller grand jury has indicted 13 Russian entities for conspiracy and fraud for trying to meddle in the 2016 Presidential election to help then-candidate Donald Trump.

None of the indicted entities are people that Mueller or American law enforcement can actually get their hands on. So… these are more for shame than punishment. But still. There are those who still think that Russia did not try to influence our election and Mueller is now saying that Russian operatives did so criminally.

It’s 37 pages that I haven’t read yet. But that’s why God invented Twitter:

There’s also this:

No Americans are indicted here. So our Constitutional democracy does not fully grind to a halt today. Mueller here is only saying that the Americans who were helped didn’t ask for it.

Sponsored

But help WAS GIVEN to Donald Trump, and in a world where we cared about the integrity of our elections, that would inspire our government to action.

Instead, I expect the President to spin 13 indicted Russian operatives as “no evidence of COLLUSION with RUSSIA.” And, “it’s a hoax.”

However, you must remember that Trump is likely being investigated for obstruction of justice too. The “underlying crime” could well be this kind of Russian meddling, so charging the Russians with an actual crime is a pretty big deal, despite the fact that we can’t actually punish those who have been indicted.

Here’s the full indictment.

UPDATE: Deputy A.G. Rod Rosenstein just help a press conference, and to my mind here is the money quote:

Sponsored

Big if true! But I read this more as an indication that: “Rod Rosenstein likes his job and intends to keep it!”

The White House is, of course, spinning this as some kind of acquittal because these allegations say the American who participated did so “unwittingly.” In normal times, I think we’d all be horrified that there were Russians operative posing as political activists duping our politicians. But, these are not normal times. Republicans are going to spin this as a “win” for Trump, somehow. Democrats are going to focus on how Rosenstein said there was no allegation of knowing collusion “in this indictment.”

I’m just going to sit here and quietly weep for my country.


Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.