Russia wasn't "colluding" with anybody, merely making as big a mess as it could of American politics generally

Jonathan Turley at The Hill says the Mueller indictment of the Russians puts to rest the idea that the Trump campaign was in cahoots with some kind of Russian plot aimed particularly at getting him elected:

Despite a 37-page indictment with a long narrative on a coordinated Russian campaign of interference, the most newsworthy fact comes from the carefully placed adjective “unwitting.” It confirms that the special counsel has found no knowing coordination or collusion between these hackers and Trump officials. The indictment names 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities in alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election. It describes a coordinated effort by Russians, including the shadowy Internet Research Agency, to wage “information warfare” against the United States.

 . . . Not only did the indictment clearly say that no one in the Trump campaign was wittingly or knowingly involved with the Russians, it explains how the Russians used fake names and groups to hide their real identities. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein gave a press conference and drove home that point, stating that there was no evidence of any knowing involvement by the Trump campaign, as well as no evidence that this effort impacted the election. Indeed, Rosenstein stated that there is “no allegation in this indictment that any American had any knowledge” of the Russian effort.

Of course, as Turley goes on to illustrate, the spin continues. But that's to be expected in the white-hot political atmosphere of 2018 post-America.

The big takeaway, for anyone willing to set aside his or her particular confirmation bias, is that Russia is a US adversary in the richest sense of the word. Like China, it aims to unseat the US as the world's most powerful and influential nation, and will use increasingly clever means to try to do so.

UPDATE: Susan Wright at Red State provides profiles of each of the 13 indicted Russians. One guy was ostensibly Putin's personal chef. His catering company seems to be a front for an outfit called the Internet Research Agency. That agency appears in most of the profiles.