Biden Administration Accuses Russia of Election Interference — Again

The Biden administration is accusing the Russian government of meddling in an American election — again. In a move that could just as easily date to 2016 or 2020, Washington is accusing the Kremlin of attempting to sway the presidential election in favor of President Trump through a sweeping media manipulation scheme. Attorney General Garland claimed on Wednesday that the Kremlin was directing “Russian public relations companies to promote disinformation and state-sponsored narratives as part of a campaign to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election.” Mr. Garland also disclosed that the Department of Justice had unsealed an indictment, filed in New York, charging two employees of a Russian-sponsored media outlet with conspiring to commit money laundering and to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The defendants allegedly used a Tennessee-based company to hire American social media influencers to share Kremlin-backed content in a $10 million propaganda scheme. The information was “often consistent with Russia’s interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Russian interests, particularly its ongoing war in Ukraine,” Mr. Garland claimed. The influencers, Mr. Garland added, had no idea that they were sharing information chosen by the Russian government. “Instead, the defendants and the company claimed that the company was sponsored by a private investor, but that private investor was a fictitious persona,” he said. Mr. Garland also announced that the Justice Department had seized the 32 internet domains that were allegedly used by the Russian government in its interference scheme. When asked by Fox News to comment on the allegations, the Russian network — which was ordered by American officials back in 2017 to register as an agent of a foreign government — offered a slew of tongue-in-cheek responses: “2016 called and it wants its clichés back,” “Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and RT’s interference in the U.S. elections,” “We gotta earn our Kremlin paycheck somehow,” and “Somewhere Secretary Clinton is sad that it’s not because of her.” Shortly before Mr. Garland’s statement, the Treasury Department announced that it had designated ten individuals and two entities as part of “a coordinated U.S. government response to Moscow’s malign influence efforts targeting the 2024 U.S. presidential election.” All property held in America by the designated individuals would be blocked and reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. They will also face visa restrictions. Among those named include the editor in chief of RT, Margarita Simonovna Simonyan, and the Deputy editor in chief, Elizaveta Yuryevna Brodskaia. The department also announced the establishment of a “reward offer of up to $10 million relating to information pertaining to foreign interference in a U.S. election.” “Today’s action underscores the U.S. government’s ongoing efforts to hold state-sponsored actors accountable for activities that aim to deteriorate public trust in our institutions,” Treasury Secretary Yellen stated. “Treasury will not waver in our commitment to safeguarding our democratic principles and the integrity of our election systems.”The sanctions mark yet another effort to thwart Russian election interference plots which American intelligence officials have warned are designed to raise support for Trump and sow distrust in the electoral process. Officials claim that President Putin favors a Trump presidency because he believes that Trump is more sympathetic to Russia and is less enthusiastic about continuing to supply aid to Ukraine. Evidence of Russian interference in an American election was first found in 2019, when Robert Mueller concluded that Russia had used thousands of fake social media accounts to influence Americans to vote for Trump over the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 election. The report also found that Russian hackers had leaked documents from within the Democratic National Committee to hurt Ms. Clinton’s election efforts. Later, in 2021, American intelligence officials charged Mr. Putin with orchestrating the spread of disinformation about Mr. Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, in order to bolster Trump’s campaign. The allegations, however, were later debunked after it became clear that the laptop did indeed belong to the president’s son.

Biden Administration Accuses Russia of Election Interference — Again

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