DOJ Charges Russian With Conspiring to Disrupt 2018 Elections

Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova is accused of managing the finances of multi-million-dollar interference effort.

Kremlin pool/Zumapress

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The Justice Department on Friday filed a complaint against Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, a 44-year-old Russian national who, prosecutors allege, was the chief accountant managing the finances for Project Lakhta, Russia’s political influence operation aimed at disrupting elections in the United States and other countries. 

Khusyaynova is charged with participating in a conspiracy to disrupt US elections, including the upcoming 2018 midterms. The complaint alleges that Khusyaynova controlled millions of dollars in Project Lakhta’s operating budget, including money spent in the US on domain names, proxy servers, advertisements on social media, and more. The DOJ alleges that she managed the financing of “media and influence activities” directed at the US, the European Union, Ukraine, and Russia itself. 

Project Lakhta is an umbrella effort funded by Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prighozin and the companies he controls, Concord Management and Consulting and Concord Catering. In February, Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged both Concord companies and Prighozin himself with conspiring to interfere in the 2016 US election.

You can read the full complaint below:

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We can afford to take our time because we don’t report to oligarchs or corporations. We report to you, and for you.

And the stakes are high. Democracy is on the defense. We’ve been exposing corruption and scandal for five decades, and this is a pivotal moment in our country’s history. Will democracy prevail? We won’t wait for time to tell—independent journalism is essential for democracy, and we’ll keep doing our part to amplify the free press.

So, we’re asking: Will you join the fight? Mother Jones has been here for 50 years, and we need your support to fuel the future of investigative journalism. Mark our 50th anniversary with a gift of any amount.

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