The Biden administration on Wednesday took several actions over new, unsubstantiated claims about Russian “election interference.”
Most of the actions targeted employees of RT, a Russian state-funded media outlet. The US has accused RT of interfering in presidential elections since 2016, but what the US has called “interference” has just been the media outlet’s coverage of the election cycle.
CNN reported early Wednesday that the administration was preparing to unveil several steps against election interference, and an RT spokesperson told the outlet: “2016 called, and it wants its clichés back.”
Later in the day, the State Department announced that it was taking three actions to “hinder malicious actors from using Kremlin-supported media as a cover to conduct covert influence activities that target the US elections in 2024 and undermine our democratic institutions.”
The first action was visa restrictions imposed by the Treasury Department. The restrictions targeted 10 Russian individuals, including seven RT employees.
The State Department also said it was listing the Russian media group Rossiya Segodnya and its subsidiaries as “foreign missions.” The subsidiaries include RIA Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly, and Sputnik.
The third action announced by the State Department was offering up to $10 million as a reward for information on a hacking group known as Russian Angry Hackers Did It, or RaHDit. The State Department claimed the group “previously engaged in election influence in other countries and is a threat to the 2024 US elections.”
Separately, the US Department of Justice unveiled an indictment against two employees of RT who are accused of funding a Tennessee-based digital media group. The DOJ alleged that the two Russians of “covertly” funded the group to distribute content with “hidden Russian government messaging.” The DOJ didn’t name the group, but the details in the indictment match with Tenet Media.
The indictment charges the two Russia with conspiracy to launder money and a conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a law that requires individuals or entities engaging in lobbying or other activity on behalf of a foreign country to register as foreign agents with the DOJ. Since both Russians are based in Russia, the case is not expected to go to trial, making the indictment largely symbolic.
The US government is also going after Americans who have worked for or written stories for RT, including former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who was recently raided by the FBI. Ritter said the raid was over allegations that he violated FARA, which he has denied.
