[ad_1]
This indictment, as part of the investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, comes three days before a summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
More than a year after his debut, the US justice investigation into suspicions of collusion between Moscow and Donald Trump's campaign continues. On Friday 13 July, Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller announced the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence agents. They are accused of hacking the Democratic Party's computers, and collecting internal documents that went online and rocked Hillary Clinton's campaign. Franceinfo explains what is known about this case
Who are the 12 Russian agents charged?
We know that they are all members of the intelligence services of the Russian army, the GRU. The American justice identifies two units of the GRU, one responsible for piracy and the other for the dissemination of documents, and names the officers who directed them. To commit their hacking, they hid under a false pseudonym hacker, Guccifer 2.0.
This is the first time that the Russian government is directly accused by investigators. In February, Prosecutor Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian and three Russian entities for attempting to interfere in the election, but they were not state agents. The indictment stated that the group was financed by an ally of Vladimir Putin, Evgueni Prigozhin.
What are they accused of?
Justice suspects them of having led "large-scale computer operations" against the Democratic Party, between March and November 2016. According to the indictment, they would have introduced themselves into the computers of volunteers and party officials, for to implant malicious programs and to steal internal documents
They would also "organized" the publication of these documents "to interfere in the election" hiding behind a site created for the occasion, DC Leaks and the fake hacker, Guccifer 2.0. They are also accused of having transmitted the documents "to another organization" that the indictment does not name. It could be WikiLeaks, which had published 20 000 internal messages of Democratic officials in July 2016.
What were the consequences of this piracy?
They are discussed. Friday, the number two of the US Department of Justice, Rod Rosenstein, claimed that "the objective" of the indicted agents "was to have an impact on the election" , reports Washington Post. But according to him, "the impact they may have had is a matter of speculation, it is not our responsibility" .
The chairman of the National Democratic Committee, Tom Perez, who reacted on Twitter by considering that this accusation proved that "the Russian government attacked our democracy in 2016" emphasized "how vast this operation was" .
Finally beaten by Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton also believes that this piracy is responsible for his defeat. In June 2017, she accused Donald Trump's team and Russia of having coordinated to derail his campaign. She took the example of the hacked messages of the president of his campaign team, John Podesta, which had been broadcast by WikiLeaks in October. A publication that had reduced the media impact of the publication, in the previous minutes, of a video of the Republican candidate holding obscene language about women.
Does this indictment embarrbad Trump?
Still according to the number two of the US Department of Justice, the charge file has not demonstrated intentional collaboration between Americans and Russian agents. A White House spokeswoman immediately pointed out "the lack of allegation of intentional involvement of anyone in the campaign [Trump]" and the lack of allegation that this piracy has affected the result of the election, which corresponds to what we have always said ". Donald Trump still considers himself a victim of a "witch hunt" in this case.
On the other hand, the timing of this charge is complicated: Donald Trump must meet Vladimir Putin head-to-head Monday in Helsinki (Finland), three days after the indictment of 12 Russian agents for the piracy of the rival party of the US President.
The Democrats have called for the cancellation of this summit meeting, and some Republicans have also expressed their discomfort. As the 'influential Senator John McCain, who suggested to Donald Trump to cancel the meeting "if he is not ready to hold Mr Putin accountable" . "I will absolutely and firmly ask the question" of the Russian interference, badured the American president, who maintained his interview with his Russian counterpart.
