Mueller's latest move just dealt the White House a massive 'black eye'

Special counsel Robert Mueller's indictment Friday of 13 Russian nationals and three organizations paints a stark picture of Russia's election interference.
The indictment threw a wrench into President Donald Trump's claims that the Russia investigation is a "hoax" and a "witch hunt" with no justifiable basis.
The charges will also force the White House to decide whether it will hold the Russian government accountable for its actions, experts said.

The FBI's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 US election took a major step forward on Friday, when special counsel Robert Mueller's office announced eight charges against 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for carrying out social media "interference operations targeting the United States."

And with the indictment, Mueller dealt a significant blow to one of President Donald Trump's central claims about the legitimacy of the investigation.

The charges released on Friday were directed primarily at the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a notorious Russian "troll factory" located in St. Petersburg that focused on sowing political discord during the 2016 race by using Russian bots to spread fake news and pro-Trump propaganda on Facebook, Twitter, and other social-media platforms.

The 13 Russian nationals named in the court filing were indicted for working in "various capacities to carry out" the agency's goals.

The charges were hailed as a triumph by a president who frequently complains on Twitter and to advisers about the Russia investigation, which he has characterized as a "hoax," a "witch hunt," and "fake news." He also often accuses former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton of colluding with Russia and the FBI to undermine his election victory and presidency.

Trump's reluctance to accept that Russia meddled in the election predates his presidency. He suggested, for instance, during the 2016 campaign

Moreover, he added, the charges will likely require the White House to "make a decision about whether they want to continue pretending that the Russians didn't have a favored side in the race, or that the side Russia favored was Clinton."

The IRA began its efforts to interfere in the election as early as 2014 — a detail the White House pointed to as evidence that the Trump campaign was not involved, because Trump did not declare his candidacy until June 2015.

But as the campaign season got into full swing, the defendants began to engage "in operations primarily intended 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," the court filing said.

In particular, workers were told to spread content related to US politics and to "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump — we support them)." Russia-linked Facebook accounts posing as American activists also reached out to at least three Trump campaign officials in the late summer of 2016 to ask if they could be of assistance to the campaign.

The White House released an official statement about the indictment on Friday, shortly after Trump declared himself and his campaign innocent on Twitter.

The Trump administration has been scrutinized for adopting a softer stance towards Russia in what critics say is an effort to appease Russian President Vladimir Putin, who frequently praises Trump.

Most recently, the White House decided not to impose new sanctions on Russia, which stemmed from a law Trump signed in August designed to punish Russia for its election meddling. The State Department said earlier this month that just the law's existence deterred Russian defense sales, and that it did not need to be additionally enforced.

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the defendants' underlying conduct did not alter the outcome of the 2016 election. Rosenstein said the indictment did not contain allegations that the defendants' actions had any effect on the outcome.