Russia’s attack on 2016 U.S. election becomes even clearer

The unprecedented indictments unveiled Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller remove any doubt that Russia is determined to destabilize our democracy, starting with an “information warfare” attack in 2014 that led to aggressive interference in the 2016 presidential election. These acts of cyberwarfare continue today.

The stunning charges are a forceful rebuke to President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, which genuflects before Vladimir Putin, the dangerous Russian president outsmarting him at every turn.

Read the 37-page indictment to understand the details of how Russian spies came to the United States, infiltrated our society, and spent more than $1 million a month on rallies, political ads on social media and efforts to coordinate American political activists in favor of Trump and against his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. This is not a hoax.

Thirteen Russian operatives, including a top Putin associate along with three entities, were indicted. They include the Internet Research Agency , which instructed Americans it hired to “use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except [Sen. Bernie] Sanders and Trump — we support them).”

This allegedly involved dirty tricks to suppress the minority vote and direct support toward third-party candidates. The Russian front is accused of using Facebook, Twitter and Google to push out divisive messages about race, religion, guns and immigration.

The federal charges of conspiracy, fraud and identity theft capped a week when the nation’s intelligence chiefs testified before the Senate that a rival foreign power is targeting the 2018 congressional elections. What’s more, the threat is going unmet by our government.

In announcing the indictment, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said, “There is no allegation in this indictment” that Americans wittingly participated in this conspiracy or that the Russian campaign influenced the outcome of the 2016 election.

Trump again tweeted his defense of “no collusion!” on Friday. His blindly partisan supporters claimed that the indictments spelled vindication for the president. It’s too early to draw that conclusion. Examine Rosenstein’s statement closely; he carefully says, in “this indictment.” Those are careful words of a career prosecutor under intense political pressure. But the indictment itself and its sweeping use of federal election law language outline the structure of a conspiracy that might be detailed further in future indictments. Mueller’s probe must continue unimpeded.

A White House statement in response to the indictments was unsatisfactory. It said Americans should unite “to protect our democracy and our elections.” But again, the White House remains alarmingly silent about what actions Trump would take against Putin.

This is not a partisan issue. We are under attack by a foreign government. Yet the president refuses to respond forcefully with an anti-Russia strategy both in cyberspace and through the enforcement of tough economic sanctions. — The editorial board

The unprecedented indictments unveiled Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller remove any doubt that Russia is determined to destabilize our democracy, starting with an “information warfare” attack in 2014 that led to aggressive interference in the 2016 presidential election. These acts of cyberwarfare continue today.

The stunning charges are a forceful rebuke to President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, which genuflects before Vladimir Putin, the dangerous Russian president outsmarting him at every turn.

Read the 37-page indictment to understand the details of how Russian spies came to the United States, infiltrated our society, and spent more than $1 million a month on rallies, political ads on social media and efforts to coordinate American political activists in favor of Trump and against his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. This is not a hoax.

Thirteen Russian operatives, including a top Putin associate along with three entities, were indicted. They include the Internet Research Agency , which instructed Americans it hired to “use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except [Sen. Bernie] Sanders and Trump — we support them).”

This allegedly involved dirty tricks to suppress the minority vote and direct support toward third-party candidates. The Russian front is accused of using Facebook, Twitter and Google to push out divisive messages about race, religion, guns and immigration.

The federal charges of conspiracy, fraud and identity theft capped a week when the nation’s intelligence chiefs testified before the Senate that a rival foreign power is targeting the 2018 congressional elections. What’s more, the threat is going unmet by our government.

In announcing the indictment, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said, “There is no allegation in this indictment” that Americans wittingly participated in this conspiracy or that the Russian campaign influenced the outcome of the 2016 election.

Trump again tweeted his defense of “no collusion!” on Friday. His blindly partisan supporters claimed that the indictments spelled vindication for the president. It’s too early to draw that conclusion. Examine Rosenstein’s statement closely; he carefully says, in “this indictment.” Those are careful words of a career prosecutor under intense political pressure. But the indictment itself and its sweeping use of federal election law language outline the structure of a conspiracy that might be detailed further in future indictments. Mueller’s probe must continue unimpeded.

A White House statement in response to the indictments was unsatisfactory. It said Americans should unite “to protect our democracy and our elections.” But again, the White House remains alarmingly silent about what actions Trump would take against Putin.

This is not a partisan issue. We are under attack by a foreign government. Yet the president refuses to respond forcefully with an anti-Russia strategy both in cyberspace and through the enforcement of tough economic sanctions. — The editorial board

The unprecedented indictments unveiled Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller remove any doubt that Russia is determined to destabilize our democracy, starting with an “information warfare” attack in 2014 that led to aggressive interference in the 2016 presidential election. These acts of cyberwarfare continue today.

The stunning charges are a forceful rebuke to President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, which genuflects before Vladimir Putin, the dangerous Russian president outsmarting him at every turn.

Read the 37-page indictment to understand the details of how Russian spies came to the United States, infiltrated our society, and spent more than $1 million a month on rallies, political ads on social media and efforts to coordinate American political activists in favor of Trump and against his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. This is not a hoax.

Thirteen Russian operatives, including a top Putin associate along with three entities, were indicted. They include the Internet Research Agency , which instructed Americans it hired to “use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except [Sen. Bernie] Sanders and Trump — we support them).”

This allegedly involved dirty tricks to suppress the minority vote and direct support toward third-party candidates. The Russian front is accused of using Facebook, Twitter and Google to push out divisive messages about race, religion, guns and immigration.

The federal charges of conspiracy, fraud and identity theft capped a week when the nation’s intelligence chiefs testified before the Senate that a rival foreign power is targeting the 2018 congressional elections. What’s more, the threat is going unmet by our government.

In announcing the indictment, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said, “There is no allegation in this indictment” that Americans wittingly participated in this conspiracy or that the Russian campaign influenced the outcome of the 2016 election.

Trump again tweeted his defense of “no collusion!” on Friday. His blindly partisan supporters claimed that the indictments spelled vindication for the president. It’s too early to draw that conclusion. Examine Rosenstein’s statement closely; he carefully says, in “this indictment.” Those are careful words of a career prosecutor under intense political pressure. But the indictment itself and its sweeping use of federal election law language outline the structure of a conspiracy that might be detailed further in future indictments. Mueller’s probe must continue unimpeded.

A White House statement in response to the indictments was unsatisfactory. It said Americans should unite “to protect our democracy and our elections.” But again, the White House remains alarmingly silent about what actions Trump would take against Putin.

This is not a partisan issue. We are under attack by a foreign government. Yet the president refuses to respond forcefully with an anti-Russia strategy both in cyberspace and through the enforcement of tough economic sanctions. — The editorial board

The unprecedented indictments unveiled Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller remove any doubt that Russia is determined to destabilize our democracy, starting with an “information warfare” attack in 2014 that led to aggressive interference in the 2016 presidential election. These acts of cyberwarfare continue today.

The stunning charges are a forceful rebuke to President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, which genuflects before Vladimir Putin, the dangerous Russian president outsmarting him at every turn.

Read the 37-page indictment to understand the details of how Russian spies came to the United States, infiltrated our society, and spent more than $1 million a month on rallies, political ads on social media and efforts to coordinate American political activists in favor of Trump and against his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. This is not a hoax.

Thirteen Russian operatives, including a top Putin associate, along with three entities, were indicted. They include the Internet Research Agency, which instructed Americans it hired to “use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except [Sen. Bernie] Sanders and Trump — we support them).”

This allegedly involved dirty tricks to suppress the minority vote and direct support toward third-party candidates. The Russian front is accused of using Facebook, Twitter and Google to push out divisive messages about race, religion, guns and immigration.

The federal charges of conspiracy, fraud and identity theft capped a week when the nation’s intelligence chiefs testified before the Senate that a rival foreign power is targeting the 2018 congressional elections. What’s more, the threat is going unmet by our government.

In announcing the indictment, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said, “There is no allegation in this indictment” that Americans wittingly participated in this conspiracy or that the Russian campaign influenced the outcome of the 2016 election.

Trump again tweeted his defense of “no collusion!” on Friday. His blindly partisan supporters claimed that the indictments spelled vindication for the president. It’s too early to draw that conclusion. Examine Rosenstein’s statement closely; he says, “in this indictment.” Those are careful words of a career prosecutor under intense political pressure. But the indictment itself and its sweeping use of federal election law language outline the structure of a conspiracy that might be detailed further in future indictments. Mueller’s probe must continue unimpeded.

A White House statement in response to the indictments was unsatisfactory. It said Americans should unite “to protect our democracy and our elections.” But again, the White House remains alarmingly silent about what actions Trump would take against Putin.

This is not a partisan issue. We are under attack by a foreign government. Yet the president refuses to respond forcefully with an anti-Russia strategy both in cyberspace and through the enforcement of tough economic sanctions. — The editorial board