Feds Say Russia is Meddling Again
Who exactly is on the ballot — Trump or Putin?
Today Vice President Kamala Harris received the backing of Vladimir Putin. Or at least he gave her a compliment, sort of. Yup, you read that right. At a televised event, Putin said with a hard smirk, Harris has “such an infectious laugh, that it says she’s doing well.”
The timing of his “endorsement” is interesting, and certainly no coincidence, coming just hours after the U.S. accused Russia of an extensive effort to help Donald Trump win the 2024 election.
Putin has invested heavily in his admirer and pal Trump. One can assume he would like a return on his money. Just how heavily he’s invested became evident when the U.S. Department of Justice yesterday announced the seizure of 32 websites that are allegedly part of a fake news ring run by the Kremlin to tilt the election for Trump; and the indictment of two employees of RT, the Russian state-run news outlet, for covertly funding an American media company that published thousands of pro-Russia and pro-Trump videos on social media.
The fake website ring was part of a Russian government-directed “foreign malign influence” campaign known as Doppelgänger. The made-up domain names were meant to confuse visitors into thinking they were on real news sites like The Washington Post. Instead they were filled with pro-Trump, pro-MAGA propaganda meant to sway American voters as well as squelch support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
RT funneled nearly $10 million to Tenet Media, a Tennessee-based company that creates far-right video content for social media. Since launching in 2022, Tenet Media has posted more than 2,000 videos, garnering 16 million views on YouTube alone. Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, and Tim Pool are some of this Russian-financed company’s most popular influencers and regularly post pro-Trump content.
Today all three issued statements claiming to be victims of the Russian scheme and that they have always maintained editorial control of their content.
In addition to the seizure of fake websites and the indictment of Russian nationals, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a Russian nonprofit that helps run Doppelgänger. In addition, the State Department is offering a $10 million reward for information about foreign interference in American elections.
It happened in 2016 and then in 2020. Here we are again in 2024 with a spate of new allegations announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland. “As alleged in our court filings, President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, including Sergei Kiriyenko, directed Russian public relations companies to promote disinformation and state-sponsored narratives as part of a campaign to influence the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. An internal planning document created by the Kremlin states that a goal of the campaign is to secure Russia’s preferred outcome in the election,” he said.
The Russians, and before them the Soviets, have been trying to influence U.S. elections for decades. It didn’t come to much until Donald Trump, during the 2016 campaign, accepted their offer of “help,” according to the Mueller report. Lest we forget, the official title of that document is the “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election.”
The Mueller report found that the Russian government’s computer hacking operation was “designed to gather and disseminate information to influence the election.” And Russia’s goal was “to conduct disinformation and social media operations in the United States designed to sow social discord, eventually with the aim of interfering with the election.”
Two years later, a federal grand jury indicted 13 Russians, one oligarch and 12 military intelligence officers, for allegedly interfering with the election. The charges included computer hacking, identity theft, false domain name registration, money laundering, and tampering with technology related to the administration of U.S. elections.
The oligarch, Yevgeny Prigozhin, vociferously denied the charges until 2022, when he admitted: “We have interfered, are interfering and will continue to interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way, as we know how.” Prigozhin died in a 2023 plane crash after mounting a rebellion against Putin.
The Russians have once again declared an information war on the United States. The Department of Justice has learned from previous elections and is trying to combat the sophisticated disinformation machine honed by the Kremlin over decades. Vigilance is essential, as are credible news organizations publishing and airing the truth.
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Dan
Two points.
First. “Today all three issued statements claiming to be victims of the Russian scheme and that they have always maintained editorial control of their content.” Of course they did and were PAID HANDSOMELY FOR IT. The influencers were clearly influenced by MONEY.
Second. Let’s not forget that the REPUBLICAN LED SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE issued a report called “Russian Active Measures and Election Interference, Volume 5” which very clearly stated that there was evidence of collusion between Russia, Trump and his associates (Page 948).
No surprises here, but glad that Garland has announced what is being done.