WASHINGTON — Twelve Russian nationals have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their alleged roles in computer hacking aimed at interfering with the 2016 U.S. elections, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced Friday.
The defendants are accused of hacking into the computer networks of the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, and other organizations in order to release that information on the internet using names such as DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0.
All 12 Russian nationals are members of the GRU, the foreign military intelligence agency of the Russian military. Russian Federation officials say the group was acting “in their official capacities.”
The indictment charges 11 of the defendants with conspiracy to commit computer crimes, eight counts of aggravated identify theft, and conspiracy to launder money. Two defendants are charged with a separate conspiracy to commit computer crimes.
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