Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
| Part of 2016 U.S. presidential election | |
ODNI declassified report Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections | |
| Date | May 2014[1][2] – November 8, 2016 |
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| Also known as | Project Lakhta |
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| Perpetrator | Russian government |
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| Trump–Russia relations |
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| 2016 U.S. presidential election | |
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| Republican Party | |
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The Russian government conducted foreign electoral interference in the 2016 United States elections with the goals of sabotaging the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the presidential campaign of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States. According to the U.S. Intelligence Community, the operation—code named "Project Lakhta"[3][4][5]—was ordered directly by Russian president Vladimir Putin.[6][7][8] The "hacking and disinformation campaign" to damage Clinton and help Trump became the "core of the scandal known as Russiagate".[9]
The Internet Research Agency (IRA), based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and described as a troll farm, created thousands of social media accounts that purported to be Americans supporting Trump and against Clinton. Fabricated articles and disinformation from Russian government-controlled media were promoted on social media where they reached millions of users between 2013 and 2017.
Computer hackers affiliated with the Russian military intelligence service (GRU) infiltrated information systems of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and Clinton campaign officials and publicly released stolen files and emails during the election campaign. Individuals connected to Russia contacted Trump campaign associates, offering business opportunities and proffering damaging information on Clinton. Russian government officials have denied involvement in any of the hacks or leaks, and Donald Trump denied the interference had even occurred.
Russian interference activities triggered strong statements from U.S. intelligence agencies, a direct warning by then-U.S. president Barack Obama to Russian president Vladimir Putin, renewed economic sanctions against Russia, and closures of Russian diplomatic facilities and expulsion of their staff. The Senate and House Intelligence Committees conducted their own investigations into the matter.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation of Russian interference in July 2016, including a special focus on links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies and suspected coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Russian attempts to interfere in the election were first disclosed publicly by members of the United States Congress in September 2016, confirmed by U.S. intelligence agencies in October 2016, and further detailed by the Director of National Intelligence office in January 2017. President Trump dismissed FBI director James Comey in May 2017 partly because of Comey's investigation of the Russian interference.
The FBI's work was taken over in May 2017 by former FBI director Robert Mueller, who led a special counsel investigation until March 2019.[10] Mueller concluded that Russian interference was "sweeping and systematic" and "violated U.S. criminal law", and he indicted twenty-six Russian citizens and three Russian organizations. The investigation also led to indictments and convictions of Trump campaign officials and associated Americans. The Mueller Report, released in April 2019, examined over 200 contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials but concluded that, though the Trump campaign welcomed the Russian activities and expected to benefit from them, there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal "conspiracy" or "coordination" charges against Trump or his associates.
The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee investigation released their report in five volumes between July 2019 and August 2020. The committee concluded that the intelligence community assessment alleging Russian interference was "coherent and well-constructed", and that the assessment was "proper", learning from analysts that there was "no politically motivated pressure to reach specific conclusions".[11][12] The report found that the Russian government had engaged in an "extensive campaign" to sabotage the election in favor of Trump, which included assistance from some of Trump's own advisers.[11]
In November 2020, newly released passages from the Mueller special counsel investigation's report indicated: "Although WikiLeaks published emails stolen from the DNC in July and October 2016 and Stone—a close associate to Donald Trump—appeared to know in advance the materials were coming, investigators 'did not have sufficient evidence' to prove active participation in the hacks or knowledge that the electronic thefts were continuing."[13]
In response to the investigations, Trump, Republican Party leaders, and right-wing conservatives promoted and endorsed false and debunked conspiracy theory counter-narratives in an effort to discredit[14] the allegations and findings of the investigations, frequently referring to them as the "Russia hoax"[15] or "Russian collusion hoax".[16][Note 1]
- ^ Bump, Philip (February 16, 2018). "Timeline: How Russian trolls allegedly tried to throw the 2016 election to Trump". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ^ United States of America vs. Internet Research Agency LLC, et al (United States District Court for the District of Columbia February 16, 2018) ("Indictment"), Text, archived from the original.
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Hosenball_8/19/2020was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rutenberg, Jim (November 2, 2022). "The Untold Story of 'Russiagate' and the Road to War in Ukraine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ Breuninger, Kevin (March 22, 2019). "Mueller probe Is over: Special counsel submits Russia report to Attorney General William Barr". cnbc.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
NYT_Mazzetti_20200818was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Russian Efforts Against Election Infrastructure With Additional Views" (PDF). Report Of The Select Committee On Intelligence United States Senate On Russian Active Measures Campaigns And Interference In The 2016 U.S. Election (Report). Vol. 1. 2020. p. 67. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
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