A US District court judge has dealt a major blow to special counsel Robert Mueller’s theory that the Kremlin engaged in “sweeping and systematic” meddling in the 2016 US election.
Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ruled this week that the Special Counsel’s indictment of a Russian troll farm “does not link the defendants to the Russian government,” and “alleges only private conduct by private actors.”
Judge Friedrich writes “It is significant and prejudicial that the government itself drew a link between these defendants and the Russian government,” adding “In short, the Court concludes that the government violated Rule 57.7 by making or authorizing the release of public statements that linked the defendants’ alleged activities to the Russian government…”
And as Journalist Aaron Maté further points out, “it’s not just a judge recognizing that the Russian troll farm did not act for Russian gov’t — it’s one of Mueller’s own prosecutors.
Facebook VP of advertising, Rob Goldman, tossed a major hand grenade in the “pro-Trump” Russian meddling narrative in February 2018 when he fired off a series of tweets the day of the Russian indictments. Most notably, Goldman pointed out that the majority of advertising purchased by Russians on Facebook occurred after the election, were hardly pro-Trump,and they was designed to “sow discord and divide Americans.”
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