This past Friday, Special Counsel Robert Mueller presented an indictment against 13 Russians and three Russian companies for illegally interfering with the U.S. political process, including during the 2016 presidential elections. The indictment gave a vivid look into an extensive political disinformation campaign, but did not address the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee. Nor did it go into any possible ties between the operation and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign or organization. This weekend, President Trump responded to the indictment with tweets claiming vindication and criticizing the FBI for supporting the investigation.
The indictment revealed two big things: The U.S. government has the ability to unearth the details of a sophisticated Russian interference operation, and can use criminal prosecution to combat it. In fact, the United States has many tools at its disposal to protect the nation, including law enforcement, sanctions, and regulatory actions to block flows of dirty money. It also possesses an entire menu of digital options to target Russian disinformation campaigns—tools like requiring the labeling of bots and foreign political or issue ads on social media, and supporting private groups working to expose Russian disinformation. It’s just a matter of using them. What’s missing is sustained and consistent top-level leadership.
