between china and the u.s. in the pacific." >>'s heart for westerners to get an idea of what this means to the -- is hard for westerners to get an idea of what this means culture.ian they have that never again mentality. so, they start, after that -- that mindset, we will build up our navy and we will build up our missile defense forces in such a way that you never lose face like this again. c-span's "qght on &a." is a launch oft "a landmark cases." there will be review of 12 historic cases featured in the series. that is monday at 6:30 p.m.

eastern, also online at respond -- c-span.org and the free c-span radio app. deputy general rod rosen time -- rose -- broad rosenstein announced charges against 13 russian nationals for their interference in the 2016 presidential election. rosenstein: good morning. the indictment charges 13 russian nationals and three russian companies for committing federal crimes while seeking to interfere with the united states political system. including the 2016 presidential election. the defendants allegedly conducted what they called "information warfare" against the united states with the

stated goal of spreading distrust towards the candidates and the political system. according to the allegations of the indictment, 12 of the individual defendants worked at various times for a company called internet research company , llc, a russian company based in st. petersburg. funded theefendant conspiracy through companies such as concorde management and consulting llc, concorde catering, and many other affiliates and subsidiaries. the conspiracy was part of a larger operation called project latka. it involve multiple components some involving domestic , audiences and others targeting foreign audiences in multiple countries. the internet research agency allegedly operated through russian shell companies. it employed hundreds of people

in its online operations, originating with creators of fictitious personas to administrators and technical personnel with an annual budget of millions of dollars. it was headed by a management group and arranged into departments, including graphics, search engine optimization, information technology, and finance departments. in 2014, the company of established a translator project focused on the united states. in july of 2016, more than 80 employees were assigned to the translator project. two of the defendants struggled -- allegedly traveled to the united states to collect intelligence for their american operations. in order to hide the russian origins of their activities, the defendants allegedly purchase d space on computer servers located here in the united states in order to set up a virtual private network. the defendants allegedly use

d that infrastructure to establish hundreds of accounts on social media networks, such as facebook, instagram, and twitter making it appear that , those accounts were controlled by persons located in the united states. they used stolen or fictitious american identities, fraudulent bank accounts, fraudulent authentication documents. the defendants posed as politically and socially active americans advocating for and , against particular candidates. they established social media pages and groups to communicate with unwitting americans. they also purchased political advertisements on social media networks. the russians also recruited and paid real americans to engage in political activities or hold activities, promote political campaigns, and stage political rallies. the co-conspirators intended to -- pretended to be grassroots activist.

americans did not know that they were communicating with russians. after the election, the defendants allegedly staged rallies to support the president-elect while simultaneously staging rallies to protest the election. for example, they organized rally to support the one president-elect, another rally to oppose him. both in new york on the same day. soon after the news media reported that the special counsel's office was investigating evidence that russian operatives have the -- had used social media to interfere with the 2016 election, one defendant allegedly wrote "we had a slight crisis at work. the fbi busted our activity. i was preoccupied covering tracks with my colleagues." the indictment includes eight

criminal counts. account alleges a criminal one conspiracy to defraud the united states by all of the defendants. the defendants allegedly attempted to defraud america, the department of justice, and the department of state. those organizations of the u.s. government are responsible for administering federal requirements, for disclosure of involvement in certain domestic activities. charges conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud by internet research agency and two of the individual defendants. counts three through eight charge aggravated identity theft i internet reached -- research agency and four individuals. there is no allegation in this indictment that any american was a knowing participant in this illegal activity. there is no allegation in the indictment that the charged conduct altered the outcome of the 2016 election. i want to caution you that everyone charged with a crime is

presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court. at trial, prosecutors must introduce credible evidence that is sufficient to prove each defendant guilty beyond any reasonable doubt, through a unanimous jury. special counsel's investigation is ongoing. there will be no comment from the special counsel at this time. this indictment serves as a reminder that people are not always who they appear to be on the internet. the indictment alleges that the russian conspirators want to promote discord in the united states, and undermine public confidence in democracy. we must not allow them to succeed. the department of justice will continue to work cooperatively with other law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and with the congress, to defend our nation against similar current and future efforts. i want to thank the federal

agents and prosecutors who are working on this case for their exceptional service. i will be happy to take a few questions. >> [indiscernible] undermined the outcome of the election? rosenstein: there is no allegation in the indictment of any effect on the outcome of the election. jessica? reporter: on page four of the indictment, paragraph six, it specifically talks about the trump campaign, saying that defendants communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the trump campaign. my question is, later in the indictment, campaign officials are referenced, not by their name, by campaign officials one or two or three. were campaign officials cooperative or were they dupes? what was their relationship? rosenstein: again, there is no allegation in this indictment that any american had any knowledge. and the nature of the scheme was, defendants took extraordinary steps to make it appear they were ordinary american political activist,

even going so far as to base their activities on a virtual private network in the united states. if anybody chased it back to that first jump, they appeared to be american. catherine? reporter: have they had assurances from the russians that they will provide these individuals for prosecution? rosenstein: there has been no commit acacia and the russians about this. we will follow the ordinary -- has been no communication with the russians about this. we will follow the ordinary process of seeking cooperation and extradition. >> mitt romney announced he is running for the senate seat of orrin hatch, who is retiring. the former presidential candidate will speak at the utah party lincolncan day dinner, taking place in provo, utah tonight. we will be there live at nine clock p.m. eastern on c-span. you can also see it online at c-span.org, and listen with the

free c-span radio app. c-span, where history unfolds daily. 1970 nine, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. today, we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington, d c, and -- in washington, d.c., and around the country. c-span is provided by your local cable or satellite provider. the top ranking democrat on the house intelligence committee, adam schiff, sat down with andrea mitchell of nbc news, to talk about the rush investigation, north korea, gun violence, and a number of other issues. this is just over an hour.