Influential conservative figures accidentally got caught up in the Justice Department’s accusation of Russian influence

Several popular American conservative influencers unwittingly participated in a malign Russian influence operation, according to an indictment by the Biden-Harris Justice Department.

Announced Tuesday, the indictment accuses two RT employees, Konstantin Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, of funneling $10 million to Tennessee-based Tenet Media.

“The Department of Justice has charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, in a $10 million scheme to create and distribute content to American audiences containing hidden Russian government messages,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.

Two RT employees charged with funding and covertly directing a US company that published thousands of videos to further Russian interests

: https://t.co/UfRPQO9QEz image.twitter.com/2OUJXwRqlH

— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) September 4, 2024

Tenet Media is owned by Liam Donovan, the husband of conservative influencer Lauren Chen. Both have been accused of knowingly accepting the $10 million from the two Russian agents.

The other influencers involved (Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen and Matt Christiansen) produced content for Tenet Media but were unaware of the Russian connection.

“Founder-1 (Donovan) and Founder-2 (Chen) worked together to conceal the true source of funding for U.S. Company-1 (Tenet Media), i.e. RT, by falsely representing (to the other influencers) that U.S. Company-1 was sponsored by a private investor named ‘Eduard Grigoriann,’” the indictment reads. “In truth and fact, Grigoriann was a fictitious character.”

“For example, during contract negotiations, Commenter-I requested that Founder-1 provide a profile or article about ‘Eduard Grigoriann.’ In response, Founder-1 sent Commenter-I a one-page profile, provided to Founder-I by another fictional character purporting to represent
“’Eduard Grigoriann’, falsely describing ‘Eduard Grigoriann’ as a ‘successful financial professional’ who had held various positions in Brussels and France at a multinational bank,” the indictment continues.

Only after receiving the fictitious profile did Commentator-I unwittingly agree to produce content for Tenet Media.

Just to clarify, because I think it’s important to keep this in mind:

The indictment alleges that the company’s founders, Lauren Chen and her husband, intentionally misled the influencers named below (apparently Dave Rubin and Tim Pool) regarding the source of their funding. https://t.co/CuJz7SPkP2 image.twitter.com/o5q4joyBlt

— AG (@AGHamilton29) September 4, 2024

So far, only Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva have been charged, although many suspect that Donovan and Chen could also be charged. Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva carried out their plan using false identities.

“Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva operated under cover identities at U.S. Company 1,” the indictment states. “Posing as an outside editor, Kalashnikov edited U.S. Company 1’s content, oversaw Company 1’s funding and hiring, and represented Afanasyeva as a member of his purported editing team.”

“Using the false names Helena Shudra and Victoria Pesti, Afanasyeva published and directed the publication of hundreds of videos by U.S. Company-1. Afanasyeva also collected information and provided instructions to U.S. Company-1 personnel,” the indictment continues.

For example, after the Islamic terrorist attack at a Moscow concert hall in March, Afanasyeva asked Donovan or Chen (it is unclear which) to blame Ukraine and the United States for the attack.

“I think we can focus on the Ukraine/US angle . . . (T)he mainstream media spread fake news that ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, but ISIS itself never made such statements,” they wrote.

“All terrorists are now detained while heading to the Ukrainian border, which makes it even more suspicious that they want to go to Ukraine to hide,” they added.

Almost all of the influencers caught up in the two Russians’ scheme have issued statements on Twitter/X proclaiming themselves victims:

My statement on the allegations and the Department of Justice’s indictment

If these allegations turn out to be true, I and the other celebrities and commentators were misled and are victims. I cannot speak for anyone else in the company about what they do or what they are ordered to do…

—Tim Pool (@Timcast) September 4, 2024

Statement on the Department of Justice’s indictment:

These allegations clearly show that I and other commentators were victims of this scheme.

I knew absolutely nothing about any of these fraudulent activities. Period.

‘People of the Internet’ was a silly show that featured viral videos that ended up… image.twitter.com/KQHYDUi3ot

— Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) September 4, 2024

Meanwhile, Donovan and Chen’s Twitter/X feeds remain silent, with neither of them posting anything in at least days, if not more.

Some critics argue that the indictment is simply another rehash of the conspiracy theory and the Russian collusion hoax. They base this theory on the fact that Pool, one of the influencers, sued Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign a day before the indictment was announced.

The Deep State is becoming too obvious.
Nobody buys this anymore.
Yesterday. Today. image.twitter.com/nGI7pq7pFL

-An7hony Sco77o (@An7honySco77o) September 4, 2024

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