A federal grand jury has indicted 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian entities accused of violating U.S. law for interfering in U.S. elections, including the Internet Research Agency.
Listeners to my show know that it's been long confirmed that Russians do try to meddle in our elections. But was that meddling coopted for a partisan political message.
Let's take a look at some of the key terms utilized in this ongoing debate - "meddling" appears to mean spreading divisive propanganda - including about the Iowa caucus.
But was there coordination with the Russian government. Fox News says this:
..the financial backer of the Internet Research Agency may have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The likely financier of the so-called Internet Research Agency of professional trolls located in Saint Petersburg is a close Putin ally with ties to Russian intelligence," (an intellligence report) said.
But that's not conclusive:
No collusion is indicated - those indictments MIGHT still be coming. But in the meantime, reporter Byron York says the some in the media aren't afraid to confuse Russian meddling with collusion: