American Great Again” and “Never Hillary” hashtags. On page six of Mueller’s indictment, however, a remarkable term entered the national lexicon... The Department of Justice formally accused the cabal of 13 Russians of waging “information warfare” against the United States. Although there are no specific references to the Kremlin or Vladimir Putin in the charging document, it is widely believed that the Russian government effectively ran the Internet Research Agency that was behind the effort to spread disinformation and dissent in America during the election. This would mean that the information warfare Mueller cited was an attack by one nation state on another. To be sure, one should be very cautious about throwing the term “warfare” around when the discussion involves two states that have enough nuclear weapons to end all life on the planet. Russian social media meddling during an election cycle is disrespectful and irritating, but it is not tantamoun to Pearl Harbor , no matter how much some members of the media and Democrat establishment insist otherwise. But the Russia election interference and collusion probe has brought home an uncomfortable truth: Anyone connected to the Internet could, wittingly or not, become a pawn in a foreign “psy op” against the U.S. This is a battlefield with no boundaries. And the outcry to counteract the scourge of
grinding on, the issue of Russian meddling in the 2016 election remains politically damaging. And looking forward, there is the ongoing threat of further Russian interference in the next election for which Trump must prepare the nation. Trump fires off Twitter messages that call the entire special counsel investigation a “Witch Hunt,” and there is ample reporting on the deep frustration the entire debacle has caused the White House. But how Trump and his team handle Russia – and the media’s accusations of 2016 election collusion with Putin’s government – could make or break Trump’s time in office. When Mueller handed down his first indictment of foreign nationals last month, the outrage was predictably partisan. Most Americans, at least those who care about the ongoing Russia collusion probe, viewed the charges against 13 Russian nationals through the prism of their political tribe. Scorned Hillary supporters saw more evidence of Kremlin-sponsored election shenanigans that must, they hope, reach all the way up to President Trump himself. For those who take the pro-Trump position, Mueller’s indictment was overblown. Here was a prosecutor handed the vast resources of the Department of Justice, and he found the time to bring charges against a campaign of glorified Twitter trolls and Facebook sock puppets. Russia was never going to extradite the named defendants, and the conspiracy they conducted involved such unremarkable propaganda as sharing tweets with “Make
24 March 2018
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