The investigation of Russia's meddling in the U.S. election has added a veteran cyber prosecutor, possibly signaling a recent focus on computer crimes, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The Post reported Ryan Dickey was assigned to the investigative team of 16 lawyers headed by special prosecutor Robert Mueller in early November — some of whom have come under fire for political bias.
Dickey previously worked in the Justice Department's computer crime and intellectual-property section. He might be the first publicly known team member who specializes exclusively in cyber issues; others' expertise is mainly in white-collar crimes, the Post reported.
The addition is not a surprise, since Russia's hacking of Democrats' emails is a central issue, the Post noted. Mueller also has information from Facebook about political ads bought through Russian accounts.
According to the Post, one charge Mueller might pursue would be a conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, if it can be proved members of President Donald Trump's campaign team conspired in Russia's hacking effort to influence the election.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or coordination with the Russians, and has called Mueller's investigation a "witch hunt."
Dickey, who previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, has participated in a number of high-profile computer-crime prosecutions — including the probe of the Romanian hacker known as "Guccifer," whose real name is Marcel Lehel Lazar, the Post reported.
Lazar was sentenced in September 2016 to four years and four months in a U.S. prison, the Post noted.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.