Wapack Labs Speaks to WMUR on the 12 Indicted Russian Agents

The Wapack Labs analyst said the Russian nationals, now charged, after Robert Mueller's investigation “It's pretty clear that the Russian government is responsible. What is not clear is - what was/is the end game?”

Friday’s news that the Justice Department had indicted 12 Russian agents in connection with interference in the 2016 U.S. elections was a major development in the fast-moving Robert Mueller investigation. But that doesn’t mean it will change anyone’s mind in the long run.

Since Mueller was appointed special counsel in May 2017, his investigation has brought charges against 35 people or businesses, including former Trump confidants Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn in late 2017. But while American opinion about Russian involvement in the 2016 election has shifted over that time, the shift hasn’t always been lasting.

In late February 2018 — just after Mueller indicted 13 Russians and three companies, accusing them of trying to influence the 2016 election by stirring up anti-Clinton and pro-Trump sentiment online — Quinnipiac University asked poll respondents whether they thought the Russian government tried to influence the 2016 presidential election. Seventy-six percent said “yes,” while 18 percent said “no.” One month earlier, however, only 68 percent had said “yes,” while 27 percent had said “no.” Although we can’t know for sure, it’s reasonable to theorize that the indictments played a role in that increase.

*Published By FiveThirtyEight

Pamela Bierau