Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) on Friday said special counsel Robert Mueller “put Moscow on notice” when he announced an indictment of 13 Russian nationals as part of the federal probe into Russian election interference.
“Mueller just put Moscow on notice. This ought to be a wakeup call to Washington: Putin’s shadow war is aimed at undermining Americans’ trust in our institutions,” Sasse said in a statement. “We know Russia is coming back in 2018 and 2020 – we have to take this threat seriously.”
Sasse, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the statement after the special counsel released a 37-page indictment detailing the Russian Internet Research Agency’s concerted efforts – starting in 2014 – to interfere “with the U.S. political and electoral processes, including the presidential election of 2016.”
All 13 defendants have been charged with “conspiracy to defraud the United States.” Three defendants were also charged with conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, and five were charged with “aggravated identity theft.”
During a press conference outlining the charges, which mark a significant development in Mueller’s investigation, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said that the indictment in no way alleges that “any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity” or “that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.”
