U.S. belatedly begins to comply with Russia sanctions law

Reuters: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Thursday said it had belatedly begun informing Congress and others about groups associated with the Russian intelligence and defense sectors as required under a 2017 law tightening sanctions on Russia.

The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which became law on Aug. 2, among other things imposes sanctions on Russia to punish Moscow because U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Russia carried out a hacking and propaganda campaign to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The law calls on the president to impose sanctions on anyone he identifies as having engaged “in a significant transaction with a person that is part of, or operates for or on behalf of, the defense or intelligence sectors” of the Russian government.

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