Summary: The US will sanction Russia for interfering in the 2016 presidential election.
President Donald Trump’s administration said today that they will sanction Russia for interfering in the 2016 presidential election. They stated that five Russian entities and 19 Russian citizens were involved with cyber-activity that intentionally caused dissent in the US, according to ABC News.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that the sanctions were administered because Russia attempted to “malign” the United States with “attempted interference in U.S. elections, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure.”
According to ABC News, this is the first time that the Trump administration has punished Russia for interfering with the 2016 election. Numerous government officials have said that there is proof that Russia hacked election devices throughout the country, spread fake news, and used bots to spread propaganda on social media.
The Trump administration has been criticized for not taking a stand against Russia despite this security information, and special counsel Robert Mueller is currently conducting an investigation into Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia and whether he used the country to help him win in 2016.
On Thursday, the Trump White House announced it was sanctioning Russia for meddling with the 2016 election, and it also said that Russia was trying to infiltrate the US energy grid.
According to ABC News, “The sanctions announced today target the Internet Research Agency, two affiliated companies, and 13 Russians who worked at the organization that spread disinformation online in the U.S., including through the use of fake personas posing as real Americans and American political groups, according to Treasury. Included on that list is Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a powerful Russian oligarch known as “Putin’s chef” because he owns a catering company that services the Kremlin.”
In Mueller’s probe, he indicted the 13 individuals mentioned above, including Prigozhin. So far, Mueller has also indicted four members of Trump’s inner circle, three of which have pled guilty to lying to the FBI.
Today’s sanctions were announced as the threat of Russia has become more prominent in recent months. For instance, they allegedly attacked the United Kingdom with a nerve agent last week and threatened the United States with nuclear war earlier this month.
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