Mid-term elections in the United States: Russian prosecuted for interference

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View of the US Congress in Washington in January 2011. Getty Images / Brendan Smialowski

For the first time, criminal proceedings have been instituted against a Russian national in the United States. Elena Khoussainova is accused of conspiring to interfere in the American political system. The complaint comes within three weeks of the mid-term elections.

With our correspondent in Washington , Anne Corpet

For the first time, a lawsuit is being filed in the United States against a Russian national for attempting to interfere in mid-term elections.

According to the Justice Department, Elena Khoussianova was the financial director of a project mounted in association with the Russian authorities to sow discord among the electorate, including through messages on social networks. The same technique had been used by Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Russians " create confusion "

" The Russians are creating confusion, exacerbating existing tensions ," said James Andrew Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. There is a lot of tension within American society, around race, poverty, health. There are a lot of topics that the Russians exploit to make people even more angry, to annoy them, and they are relatively effective . "

After the announcement of the prosecution of Elena Khusianova, the FBI director appealed for vigilance to all Americans. " Our foreign opponents continue to interfere in our democracy ," said James Comey. They seek to break our trust in our political system . "