Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland held a press conference Wednesday to announce the indictment of two members of Russian state media outlet RT for using covert donations to a US-based media company to shape US political opinion.
Over at least the past year, RT and its employees, including KOSTIANTYN KALASHNIKOV, a/k/a “Kostya,” and ELENA AFANASYEVA, a/k/a “Lena,” the defendants, have deployed nearly $10 million, laundered through a network of foreign shell entities, to covertly fund and direct U.S. Company-I. U.S. Company-I publishes English-language videos on multiple social media channels, including TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube. Using multiple fake personas, AFANASYEVA edited, posted, and directed the posting by U.S. Company-I of hundreds of videos. Many of the videos published by U.S. Company-I contain commentary on events and issues in the United States, such as…
