US sanctions Russia for election interference

Photo: Reuters/Anna Rose Layden

WASHINGTON, DC (REUTERS) – The Justice, State and Treasury departments announced on Sept. 4 a joint effort to target with sanctions and criminal charges what the Biden administration says are Russian-sponsored efforts to manipulate American public opinion ahead of the November election.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced charges against two employees of the Russian-backed media network RT on charges of conspiring to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act in an indictment unsealed Sept. 4 in the Southern District of New York.

“The American people have a right to know when a foreign power attempts to exploit the free exchange of ideas in our country to send its own propaganda,” Garland said.

While the indictment redacted the names of political parties and candidates, it was clear from the documents that the Russians sought to support former Republican President Donald Trump and undermine Democratic efforts, whose nominee would likely have been Joe Biden at the time.

Garland accused Konstantin Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva of implementing a nearly $10 million scheme to hire a Tennessee-based company to publish and disseminate pro-Russian content. That company then hired U.S.-based social media influencers to share content on its platforms. The information was “often consistent with Russia’s interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions to weaken U.S. opposition to Russia’s core interests, particularly its ongoing war in Ukraine,” the attorney general said.

Kalashnikov identified himself as “deputy director of RT’s Digital Media Projects Department,” and Afanasyeva identified herself on social media as “RT producer, covering foreign affairs and news,” according to the indictment.

“The company never disclosed to the influencers or their millions of followers its ties to RT and the Russian government. Instead, the defendants and the company claimed that the company was sponsored by a private investor, but that that private investor was a fictitious person,” Garland said.

The company posted “hundreds of videos” containing “commentary on events and issues in the United States, including immigration, inflation, and other topics related to domestic and foreign policy.”

At a White House news conference, when asked whether senior Russian officials were aware of RT’s activity, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US believes Russian President Vladimir Putin was aware.

“We believe Mr. Putin is influencing these actions,” Kirby said.

The attorney general said the investigation is ongoing and the Justice Department is seizing 32 Internet domains that the Russian government and Russian actors have used to influence U.S. elections.

The attorney general made clear that Iran has also been responsible for activities seeking to compromise former President Donald Trump’s campaign and interfere in the election outcome.

“The Justice Department’s message is clear: We will not tolerate attempts by authoritarian regimes to exploit our democratic system of government. We will be relentlessly aggressive in countering and disrupting attempts by Russia, Iran, as well as China or any other malign foreign actor to interfere in elections and undermine our members.”