DISINFO: The US President's "Russia affair" proved to be a factless conspiracy theory
SUMMARY
While the US President’s “Russia affair”, which had been promoted for years by mainstream media, proved to be a factless conspiracy theory after the publication of the report by special investigator Robert Mueller, the narrative of Russian electoral interference continues to celebrate cheerful origins – also in Mueller’s report itself, according to which Russia secretly created a mood in the social media against Hillary Clinton and thus helped Trump to victory.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Robert Mueller's investigation did conclude that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Mueller's report determined that there were "two main Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election". It led to US senators' proposals to extend sanctions on Russia to deter it from further election meddling. The claim that the report provides no evidence of US President's "Russia affair", is spurious. Gathering evidence of "collusion" - which is not a legal concept - fell outside the scope of the investigation. The aim of the probe was not merely to ascertain contacts between the Trump Campaign and Russia-linked individuals during the election period, but to establish whether these interactions were deliberate enough on the part of Trump Campaign officials to sustain charges of conspiracy (p. 2). The report explicitly identifies "numerous links between individuals with ties to the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump Campaign" (p. 9).