5 Things to Know About the Russia Investigation, Mueller Indictments, Trump Collusion
1. Russia's latest antics began in 2014.
Russian meddling in the elections of other countries is not new. And the most recent episode of such meddling in American political affairs predates the 2016 presidential election cycle. The indictment paints a picture of Moscow's involvement starting in 2014 before Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton even announced they were running.
The 37-page indictment explains the extensive operations of Russian organization Internet Research Agency, which in September of 2016 reportedly had a monthly budget of more than $1.25 million for the project that included interfering with the American election, according to CNN.
The defendants that were indicted posed as Americans, created fake personas, social media profiles, and groups with the intention of attracting U.S. audiences. In 2014 two of the defendants traveled to the United States to gather intelligence for these operations, the indictment says. They focused much of their efforts on influencing "purple" swing states.
