According to Robert Mueller’s indictment, the purpose of the Russian information operation that began in 2014 was “spread[ing] distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general.”

If it was the GOAL of Russia to create discord, disruption and chaos within the U.S. then, with all of the Committee Hearings, Investigations and Party hatred, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They are laughing their asses off in Moscow. Get smart America!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2018

I could not agree more.

It is clear from Mueller’s indictment that the overwhelming majority of the investigation was completed before Robert Mueller was ever appointed special counsel. Apparently, the FBI decided that there was nothing more to be gained from observing this operation and rolled it up in September.

“We had a slight crisis here at work: the FBI busted our activity (not a joke). So, I got preoccupied with covering tracks together with the colleagues.”

The only investigative activity mentioned in the indictment is itemizing Facebook ad expenditures which resulted in the mail fraud and identity theft items.

What has this small investment by the Russians accomplished?

Four congressional committees are consumed with related investigations. A special counsel has been appointed. Daily the legitimacy of the presidency is questioned. There are still assertions, which I think Mueller had a moral and ethical obligation to clear up, that the Trump campaign actively worked with the Russian government to achieve victory. If that is the case, it is damned serious. If that is not the case, and Mueller clearly knows one way or another by now, then it is the height of irresponsibility to not announce his finding. Leaving the president under a cloud or leaving an active or passive agent of the Russians in the Oval Office is simply unacceptable. Our foreign policy with a major geopolitical competitor is frozen in amber because the insistence upon retaliation precludes bilateral cooperation in many areas where that cooperation is desperately needed. That constraint of action only serves one party: Russia.

So Trump is right. They are laughing in Moscow. And they should. For an investment that would not have purchased a single modern main battle tank, they have achieved a signal strategic victory to which they were not entitled by their own expenditure of effort or resources.