LINCOLN, NE — Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said Friday that the indictments of 12 Russians in connection with the hacking of Democratic National Committee computers and systems adds to “the growing, abundant evidence that the 2016 presidential election was stolen from the American people by a hostile foreign government.”
“These indictments by Special Counsel Robert Mueller only underscore what most of us already suspected — the Russians used criminal interference in our election process to bring a candidate they supported to power in the Oval Office,” Kleeb said.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the long-awaited indictment Friday in Washington, D.C.
“The indictment charges 12 Russian military officers by name for conspiring to interfere with the 2016 presidential election,” Rosenstein said. All of the defendants are members of the GRU, which is Russia’s military intelligence agency.
Eleven of the agents are charged with conspiring to hack into networks used by the DNC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. A twelfth is charged with conspiring to hack into state election systems and sending so-called spear-phishing emails to state elections officials.
The U.S. intelligence community says the Russians were intent on helping elect President Trump. The Senate Intelligence Committee said earlier that it agreed with that assessment.
“All Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike — should be supportive of the the Mueller team’s investigation,” Kleeb said. “Without uncovering the truth, our entire democracy is at risk.”
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