Interactions and Contacts with the Trump Campaign

¶The investigation identified two different fonns of connections between the IRA and members of the Trnmp Campaign. (The investigation identified no similar connections between the IRA and the Clinton Campaign.) First, on multiple occasions, members and smTogates of the Trnmp Campaign promoted-typically by linking, retweeting, or similar methods of reposting pro-Tnnnp or anti-Clinton content published by the IRA through IRA-controlled social media accounts. Additionally, in a few instances, IRA employees represented themselves as U.S. persons to communicate with members of the Tnnnp Campaign in an effo1i to seek assistance and coordination on IRA-organized political rallies inside the United States.

Trump Campaign Promotion of IRA Political Materials

¶Among the U.S . "leaders of public opinion" targeted by the IRA were various members and sunogates of the Trnmp Campaign. In total, Tnnnp Campaign affiliates promoted dozens of tweets, posts, and other political content created by the IRA.

Posts from the IRA-controlled Twitter account @TEN_GOP were cited or retweeted by multiple Tnnnp Campaign officials and smTogates, including Donald J. Trnmp Jr.,⁹⁶⁹⁶ See, e.g. , @DonaldJTnunpJr 10/26/ 16 Tweet ("RT @TEN_GOP: BREAKING Thousands of names changed on voter rolls in Indiana. Police investigating #VoterFraud. #DrainTheSwamp."); @DonaldJTmmpJr 11/2/ 16 Tweet ("RT @TEN_GOP: BREAKING: #VoterFraud by counting tens of thousands of ineligible mail in Hilla1y votes being repo1ted in Broward County, F101ida."); @DonaldJTmmpJr 11/8/ 16 Tweet ("RT @TEN_ GOP: This vet passed away last month before he could vote for Tmmp. Here he is in his #MAGA hat. #voted #ElectionDay. "). Tmmp Jr. retweeted additional @TEN_GOP content subsequent to the election.Show full note Eric

¶Trump,97 Kellyanne Conway,⁹⁸⁹⁸ @KellyannePolls 11/6/ 16 Tweet ("RT @TEN_GOP: Mother of jailed sailor: ' Hold Hillaiy to same standai·ds as my son on Classified info' #hillarysemail #WeinerGate."). Brad Parscale,⁹⁹⁹⁹ @parscale 10/ 15/1 6 Tweet ("Thousands of deplorables chai1ting to the media: ' Tell The Trnth!' RT if you ai·e also done w/ biased Media! #F1idayFeeling"). and Michael T. Flynn.¹⁰⁰¹⁰⁰ @GenFlym1 11/7/l 6 (retweeting @TEN_GOP post that included in pait "@realDonaldTrnmp & @mike_pence will be our next POTUS & VPOTUS."). These posts included allegations of voter fraud,¹⁰¹¹⁰¹ @TEN_GOP 10/ 11/16 Tweet ("No1th Carolina finds 2,214 voters over the age of 110!!"). as well as allegations that Secretaiy Clinton had mishandled classified infonnation. 102

A November 7, 2016 post from the IRA-controlled

¶Twitter account @Pamela~Moorel3 was retweeted by lorl'OO• SUPc>«I Mwrul 1/,f ,..,. tust1harod phaos 1Tt111 voor

¶NWAVING OAY, YQS1ordayi IloY• you . ond !ho<• ,s no""""'"

¶Donald J. Trump Jr.¹⁰³¹⁰³ @DonaldJTmmpJr 11/7/ 16 Tweet ("RT @Pamela_Moore13: Detroit residents speak out against the failed policies of Obama, Hilla1y & democrats . ...").

On September 19, 2017, President Tnunp 's personal account @realDonaldTrump responded to a tweet from the IRA-controlled account @ l0_gop (the backup account of @TEN_GOP, which had already been deactivated by Twitter). The tweet read: "We love you,

¶Mr. President! " 104

¶IRA employees monitored the reaction of the Tnunp Campaign and, later, Trump Administration officials to their tweets. For exainple, on August 23, 2016, the IRA-controlled persona "Matt Skiber" Facebook account sent a message to a U .S. Tea Paiiy activist, writing that "Mr. ,. , ~ Tnunp posted about our event in Miaini! This is great! " 105

...... [Redacted: (b) (6), (b) (7)(C)] Tao~• nl.l'9Kectl,!B.

¶The IRA employee included a screenshot of candidate Trump's Facebook account, which included a post about the Screenshot ofTrnmp Facebook August 20, 2016 political rallies organized by the IRA. Account (from Matt Skiber) ,.

Contact with Trump Campaign Officials in Connection to Rallies

¶Staiiing in June 2016, the IRA contacted different U.S. persons affiliated with the Tnnnp Campaign in an effo1i to coordinate pro-Trnmp IRA-organized rallies inside the United States. In all cases, the IRA contacted the Campaign while claiming to be U.S. political activists working on behalf of a conservative grassroots organization. The IRA's contacts included requests for signs and other materials to use at rallies, 107 as well as requests to promote the rallies and help coordinate logistics.108 While ce1iain campaign volunteers agreed to provide th e requested suppo1i (for example, agreeing to set aside a number of signs), the investigation has not identified evidence that any Tnnnp Campaign official understood the requests were coming from foreign nationals.

¶In sum, the investigation established that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election through the "active measures" social media campaign caITied out by the IRA, an organization funded by Prigozhin and companies that he controlled. As explained finiher in Volume I, Section V.A, inf ra, the Office concluded (and a grand jmy has alleged) that Prigozhin, his companies, and IRA employees violated U.S . law th rough these operations, principally by undermining through deceptive acts the work of federal agencies chai·ged with regulating foreign influence in U.S. elections.