WEB DESK
US special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election has indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers in the hacking into the servers of senior Democrats, including its Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. The indictment came yesterday ahead of US President Trump’s crucial meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland on Monday.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said that the charges were drawn up by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director, who is looking into Russian interference in the November 2016 vote.
The 29-page indictment is the most detailed accusation by the American government to date of the Russian state’s role in the 2016 election.
According to the indictment, Russian intelligence officials in 2016, began spear phishing volunteers and employees of the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, including the campaign’s chairman. They also were able to hack into the computer networks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry has said there was no evidence the 12 people indicted by the US were linked to military intelligence or hacking into the computer networks of the US Democratic party. It said the indictment was meant to damage the atmosphere before the summit between Mr Putin and Mr Trump.