Indicted Russian Troll Farm Targeted Mueller In 2018

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.

In February 2018, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals connected to the Internet Research Agency—a Russian troll farm Mueller suspected of posing as Americans and spreading false information in order to influence the United States’ 2016 presidential election. And a new court filing submitted on Wednesday, January 30 alleges that the Internet Research Agency launched a disinformation campaign against Mueller himself in 2018.

Mueller is accusing Concord Management and Consulting, a Russian company, of funding the Internet Research Agency, and the special counsel’s office is alleging that the 2018 disinformation campaign was designed to convince Americans that Mueller’s evidence against the Internet Research Agency was weak and lacked credibility.

After Mueller indicted Concord Management and Consulting and 13 Russian nationals in February 2018, the company hired Reed Smith, an American law firm, for representation in its battle against Mueller’s team. Concord alleged that Mueller was illegally appointed, hoping the case would be thrown out. But Judge Dabney Friedrich, much to the disappointment of Mueller’s critics, has refused to dismiss the case.

In fact, Friedrich has been critical of Reed Smith, describing the firm’s anti-Mueller court filings as “unprofessional, inappropriate and ineffective.”

However, it is most unlikely that the 13 Russian nationals Mueller indicted last year will actually stand trial in the U.S., as the Russian government has made it clear that it shares President Trump’s low opinion of Mueller’s Russia probe.