WARSAW: US President Donald Trump today conceded that Russia may have interfered in the 2016 election that brought him to power but said other countries may also have been involved."I've said it very simply. I think it could very well have been Russia. I think it could well have been other countries. I won't be specific. But I think a lot of people interfere," Trump said during a visit to Warsaw. </s> President Vladimir Putin on Monday suggested that Washington question the Russians accused of election interference.

In response, President Donald Trump said that an investigation into Moscow’s alleged meddling in his election had been a “disaster” for the United States.

The two leaders spoke after key talks.

“We ran a brilliant campaign and that’s why I’m president,” Trump said, once again firmly denying allegations that Russian hacking and propaganda assisted him in his 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton.

Putin had hailed cooperation between Russian and US security services, saying, “Our security services work very successfully.”

The two leaders spoke at a news conference they addressed together.

“We are in favour of continuing cooperation in the sphere of the fight against terror and ensuring cyber security,” Putin enthused.

He then went on to ‘assure’ Trump that gas deliveries via Ukraine will continue.

The US and Russian leaders opened an historic summit in Helsinki, with Donald Trump promising an “extraordinary relationship” and Vladimir Putin saying it was time they thrashed out disputes around the world. </s> WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

In addition, three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.

“The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said.

The grand jury had been empaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as any possible connections between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

FBI Director Chris Wray and Rosenstein briefed President Donald Trump on the indictments at the White House on Friday morning, a White House official said.

Beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organization Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 elections, according to the indictment.

The defendants allegedly posed as US persons, created false US personas, and operated social media pages and groups designed to attract US audiences, the indictment reads.

The Internet Research Agency had a “strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system” including the election, according to the indictment.

Russians posted “derogatory information about a number of candidates,” and by mid-2016 they supported Trump and disparaged Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. They bought ads and communicated with “unwitting” people tied to Trump campaign and others to coordinate political activities.

Rosenstein said Friday that the indictment does not contain any allegations that any Americans knowingly participated in the activity.

“There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity,” he said. “There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.” </s> (CNN) — A federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

In addition, three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.

“The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said.

The grand jury had been empaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as any possible connections between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

FBI Director Chris Wray and Rosenstein briefed President Donald Trump on the indictments at the White House on Friday morning, a White House official said.

Beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organization Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 elections, according to the indictment.

The defendants allegedly posed as US persons, created false US personas, and operated social media pages and groups designed to attract US audiences, the indictment reads.

The Internet Research Agency had a “strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system” including the election, according to the indictment.

Russians posted “derogatory information about a number of candidates,” and by mid-2016 they supported Trump and disparaged Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. They bought ads and communicated with “unwitting” people tied to Trump campaign and others to coordinate political activities.

Rosenstein said Friday that the indictment does not contain any allegations that any Americans knowingly participated in the activity.

“There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity,” he said. “There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.” </s> A federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly meddling in the 2016 presidential election, charging them with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

In addition, three defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and five defendants with aggravated identity theft.

“The defendants allegedly conducted what they called information warfare against the United States, with the stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said.

The grand jury had been empaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as any possible connections between Russia and Trump campaign associates.

FBI Director Chris Wray and Rosenstein briefed President Donald Trump on the indictments at the White House on Friday morning, a White House official said.

Beginning as early as 2014, the Russian organization Internet Research Agency began operations to interfere with the US political system, including the 2016 elections, according to the indictment.

The defendants allegedly posed as US persons, created false US personas, and operated social media pages and groups designed to attract US audiences, the indictment reads.

The Internet Research Agency had a “strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system” including the election, according to the indictment.

Russians posted “derogatory information about a number of candidates,” and by mid-2016 they supported Trump and disparaged Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. They bought ads and communicated with “unwitting” people tied to Trump campaign and others to coordinate political activities.

Rosenstein said Friday that the indictment does not contain any allegations that any Americans knowingly participated in the activity.

“There is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity,” he said. “There is no allegation in the indictment that the charge conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election.” </s> President Donald Trump says his election campaign "did nothing wrong" as the FBI brought charges against 13 Russians for alleged election meddling.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller also named three companies in the indictment - seen as a major development his continuing probe into the 2016 poll.

Three of the people named have also been accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five have been accused of aggravated identity theft.

Russia denies trying to sway the poll.

In a tweet on Friday evening, Mr Trump repeated that there had been "no collusion" between his campaign and Russia.

However, he did appear to concede that Russia had sought to influence the election. The president has previously disputed US intelligence agency assessments suggesting this.
• Seven key takeaways from the indictments

What does the indictment say?

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said there was no allegation that any American was "a knowing participant in this illegal activity" nor was it alleged that the meddling altered the election outcome.

The 37-page indictment says a group of Russians:
• Posed as Americans, and opened financial accounts in their name
• Purchased US server space in an effort to hide their Russian affiliation
• Organised and promoted political rallies within the United States
• Posted political messages on social media accounts that impersonated real US citizens
• Received money from clients to post on US social media sites
• Created themed groups on social media on hot-button issues, particularly on Facebook and Instagram
• Operated with a monthly budget of as much as $1.25m (£890,000)
• Financed the building of a cage large enough to hold an actress portraying Hillary Clinton in a prison uniform

The indictment says those involved systematically monitored the success of their internet posts.
• The tactics of the Russian 'troll farm'

It also says those named in the indictment had visited the US posing as American citizens and had begun discussing how to affect the election as early as 2014.

"By 2016, defendants and their co-conspirators used their fictitious online persons to interfere with the 2016 US presidential election," the indictment continues.

"They engaged in operations primarily to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump."

One of the companies targeted is the Internet Research Agency, based in St Petersburg, which the indictment said "had a strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system, including the 2016 US presidential election".

"Thirteen people interfered with the US elections?" said Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman. "Thirteen against the billion-dollar budgets of the security services? Against espionage and counter-espionage, against new developments and technologies? Absurd? Yes."

One of the men named in the indictment - Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is known as "Putin's chef", denied election tampering.

"The Americans are very impressionable people, they see what they want to see," he was quoted as saying by Russian news agency Ria Novosti on Friday. "I have great respect for them. I'm not at all upset that I'm on this list. If they want to see the devil, let them see him."

Mr Prigozhin has been a friend of Mr Putin since the 1990s. He has built up a business empire and has been accused of using companies to diffuse pro-Kremlin opinions via fake internet identities.

On Friday, Robert Mueller's team released a slate of indictments that lays bare what it asserts is the full shape of the Russian meddling apparatus.

And what an apparatus it was. In the run-up to the US presidential election "Project Lakhta", as it was called, had an operating budget of more than $1m a month.

Russians associated with the organisation travelled to the US, posed as Americans and gathered information on where best to target its attempts to "sow discord" in the US political process. Swing states were identified and efforts, according to the indictment, were made to boost the prospects of Republican Donald Trump and undermine Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Although the indictment does not suggest collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians, it says the meddling effort may have been aided by "unwitting individuals" associated with the Republican nominee.

The White House may breathe a sigh of relief with that particular revelation. But the heat is increasing, and the investigation isn't over yet. At the very least, if Mr Mueller's allegations hold up in court, it will become increasingly difficult for the president to argue that Russian meddling on his behalf is an unsubstantiated hoax.

What do the social media companies say?

Politicians from both major parties have responded with calls for social media companies to do more to prevent political interference via their platforms.

Facebook said in a statement that it had worked "proactively" with Mr Mueller's investigation, but admitted that it had "more to do to prevent further attacks".

Twitter said the activities were "intolerable" and that it was working with investigators, but that "tech companies cannot defeat this novel, shared threat alone".

What is the investigation about?

US intelligence agencies believe Russia tried to sway the 2016 presidential election in favour of Mr Trump.

In May last year, Mr Mueller was appointed special counsel to investigate whether anyone from his campaign colluded in the effort.

As part of the inquiry, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has been charged with conspiring to defraud the US in his dealings with Ukraine, and conspiracy to launder money.

And another charge disclosed on Friday accuses him of submitting false information to obtain a mortgage on a Washington property.

A business associate of Mr Manafort's, Rick Gates, was also charged with conspiracy to launder money. A third adviser to the Trump campaign, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

In December, Mr Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to making false statements about a meeting he had with the Russian ambassador in 2016.

This week President Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, was interviewed by Mr Mueller.

Mr Trump has been accused by opponents of trying to interfere with the investigation, which he denies. </s> Both Trump and numerous Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly denied claims of alleged Moscow's collusion with the US president's campaign, as well as of the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 US election."I encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and US persons involved in the Trump campaign," Brennan stated. "I don't know and cannot confirm if collusion existed."Brennan said that he had no knowledge of President Donald Trump's alleged attempts to ask US intelligence officials to stop the investigation about allegations his campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 US election.When asked whether Trump has made any efforts to enlist the support of intelligence officials to push back on Russia collusion issue, Brennan stated, "I am unaware of it."Brennan also said that he did not know whether Trump had tried to pressure former FBI Director James Comey to drop an investigation into ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. </s> • In a tweet on Friday, President Donald Trump defended himself against allegations of collusion with Russians during the 2016 presidential race.
• Trump posted the tweet in response to the Justice Department's indictments of 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian entities involved in sowing political discord in the US before the 2016 election.
• Trump said the indictments are further evidence that there was "no collusion."



President Donald Trump insisted his presidential campaign had nothing to do with the Russian nationals and organizations indicted by the US Department of Justice on Friday for interfering in the 2016 election.

"Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President," Trump said in a tweet. "The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong - no collusion!"

Earlier on Friday, special counsel Robert Mueller's office charged three Russian entities and 13 Russian nationals with "violating US criminal laws in order to interfere with US elections and political processes."

The White House said Trump was briefed on the matter and "was glad to see the Special Counsel's investigation further indicates—that there was NO COLLUSION between the Trump campaign and Russia and that the outcome of the election was not changed or affected."

Mueller's investigation is ongoing and has not concluded that there was no collusion between Trump officials and the Russian government. But so far, there has been little evidence to support claims of collusion.

"We cannot allow those seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful," Trump added in a statement. "It's time we stop the outlandish partisan attacks, wild and false allegations, and far-fetched theories, which only serve to further the agendas of bad actors, like Russia, and do nothing to protect the principles of our institutions."

The charges brought by the Justice Department were directed primarily at the Internet Research Agency (IRA), an infamous Russian "troll factory" that focused on sowing political discord during the 2016 race by using internet bots to spread fake news and pro-Trump propaganda on Facebook, Twitter, and other social-media platforms.

The 13 Russian nationals charged were indicted for working in "various capacities to carry out" the agency's "interference operations targeting the United States." </s> President Donald Trump, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Russian President Vladimir Monday, refused to say whether he believed his own intelligence agencies over Putin about interference in the 2016 United States presidential election. In an extraordinary press conference in Helsinki, Finland, just days after the Justice Department indicted 12 Russian intelligence agents on charges of hacking into the Democratic National Committee and Hillary’s Clinton presidential campaign, Trump instead said both the U.S. and Russia were to blame over deteriorating relations.

Here were some of the most stunning moments from a question-and-answer session with reporters that had Democrats and even some Republicans crying foul.

Trump refuses to defend U.S. intelligence agencies

Associated Press reporter Jonathan Lemire asked Trump whether he believed his own intelligence agencies or Putin about whether Russians interfered in the 2016 election and whether he would denounce the meddling and warn Putin against doing it again.

In his answer, Trump declined to back his own Justice Department and instead put forward conspiracy theories about the 2016 election and pivoted again to Hillary Clinton's emails.

Trump on Poor Relations With Russia: ‘I Hold Both Countries Responsible’

“We have two thoughts,” Trump said. “You have groups the are wondering why the FBI never took the [DNC] server. “Why haven’t they taken the server. Why was the FBI told to leave the office of the Democratic National Committee. I’ve been wondering that. I’ve been asking that for months and months and I’ve been tweeting that out.”

Trump also refused to back U.S. intelligence agencies and noted that Putin had denied Russian involvement.

“I don’t see any reason why it would be but I really do want to see the server,” Trump said.

Is there Russian "kompromat?"

The AP’s Lemire also asked Putin directly whether the Russian state had compromising information on Trump, which was the subject of a dossier compiled by a former British intelligence agent and which Trump supporters have denounced. The dossier alleged that an incident involving Trump and prostitutes was secretly recorded by Russia during the visit.

Putin called the uncorroborated accusation “utter nonsense” but in waving it off did not specifically deny the claim. Instead he insisted he didn’t know that Trump was in Moscow at the time and said that many American businessmen had visited Russia.

“Distinguished colleague, let me tell you this: When Mr. Trump visited Moscow back then, I didn’t even know he was in Moscow. I treat Mr. Trump with utmost respect but back then when he was private individual, a businessman, nobody informed me he was in Moscow.”

Rob Goldstone, a music promoter who arranged the meeting in July 2016 in Trump Tower when material damaging to Clinton was allegedly promised to Donald Trump Jr., tweeted out the following:

“President Putin just stated that he had no idea Donald Trump was in Moscow in 2013. I know for sure that he did and tell the full story in my soon to be released book…”

Putin's candidate

Putin was asked whether he wanted Trump to win the election, as U.S. intelligence agencies have maintained.

“Yes, I did,” Putin said. “Yes, I did. Because he talked about bringing the Russian relationship back to normal.”

Will Russia extradite indicted Russian agents?

Putin was asked whether he would extradite 12 Russian agents indicted for hacking into Democratic computers during the 2016 presidential election. The U.S does not have an extradition treaty with Russia.

Putin replied that a different U.S.-Russian treaty calls for mutual assistance on criminal cases and suggested Mueller send an official request asking that Russia question the agents on behalf of the United States.

“I don’t know the full extent of the situation but President Trump mentioned this issue and I will look into it. So far I can say the following off the top of my head. We have an existing agreement between the United States of America and the Russian Federation, an existing treaty that dates back to 1999, the mutual assistance on criminal cases. This treaty is in full effect, it works quite efficiently.”

He said that U.S. agents could come to Russia to witness the questioning, if Americans would also assist Russia in its investigation into Putin critic Bill Browder, a British financier who has spearheaded sanctions against Russians for human rights abuses.

Soccer diplomacy 

Russia is coming off hosting a successful World Cup competition, which ended on Sunday with France defeating Croatia 4-2 to win the tournament. Putin playfully tossed a soccer ball to Trump, telling him, “Speaking of the football actually. Mr. President, I’ll give this ball. and now the ball is in your court. All the more that the United States will host the World Cup in 2026.”

The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Trump said the soccer ball would go to his son, Baron, and threw the ball to his wife, Melania, who was sitting in the audience.

Afterward, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted: “Finally, if it were me, I’d check the soccer ball for listening devices and never allow it in the White House.”

Reporter ejected from press conference

Moments before the joint press conference began a reporter representing The Nation magazine was forcibly removed from the room by security agents. He appeared to be carrying a handwritten sign that said “Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty.”

Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation’s editor, told CNN: “Sam Husseini, communications director of Institute for Public Accuracy, received press accreditation from @thenation to cover the summit. As Trump administration consistently denigrates media, we’re deeply troubled by reports that he was forcibly removed from press conference.”
Trump reiterates his position that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 US presidential election.