The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment Wednesday alleging that two Russian nationals working for President Vladimir Putin’s government funneled millions of dollars into a media company run by anti-Trump conservative influencer Lauren Chen.
“An indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York charged Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, both based in Moscow, with conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act,” CBS News reported on Wednesday.
The two defendants worked for the Russian state-controlled outlet RT, formerly known as Russia Today, before it was disbanded in the United States following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Federal prosecutors said RT oversaw a series of ‘covert projects’ that included funneling $10 million through a series of shell entities to a Tennessee-based company launched in 2023 that publishes videos on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter,” added CBS News.
The indictment charged that the videos published by the company contained “commentary on events and issues in the United States, such as immigration, inflation, and other topics related to domestic and foreign policy.”
“While the views expressed in the videos are not uniform, the subject matter and content of the videos are often consistent with the Government of Russia’s interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Government of Russia interests, such as its ongoing war in Ukraine,” noted the indictment.
The indictment does not name the company, only noting that it bills itself as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.” Reporters identified the company as Tenet Media, which says on its website:
Tenet Media is a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues. Our goal is to support creators who question institutions that believe themselves to be above questioning. In our view, all issues du jour merit rigorous and honest discussion if one wants to come closest to the truth. For those interested in authentic coverage of the topics that matter most, Tenet Media is your home for content : fearless voices live here.
The company allegedly had business arrangements of varying depths and duration with popular influencers such as Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, and Lauren Southern as talent.
Most of those listed have voiced pro-Trump opinions, though Chen herself had turned on the former president.
The indictment clarified that at least two talents – Tim Pool being one – were “deceived” by Tenet Media’s two founders, Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan. Per CBS News:
Records with the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office show that Tenet Media incorporated on Jan. 19, 2022, the same date of incorporation mentioned in the indictment, and is headquartered in Nashville. It was founded by Liam Donovan and his wife, Lauren Chen. The founders are referred to as Founder-1 and Founder-2 in the indictment and prosecutors said they jointly run the company.
Tenet reportedly never disclosed that it had been “funded and directed” by RT, with neither the company nor its founders registering with the Justice Department as a foreign agent.
Tim Pool described himself as a “victim” in a statement on social media, charging that he had full editorial control of his show and at no point issued any talking points at Russia’s behest.
“Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims. I cannot speak for anyone else at the company as to what they do or to what they are instructed,” Pool said.
Tim Pool later deleted his statement, but commented on his show, saying that he had never produced content at anyone’s behest, and that had simply agreed to allow some of his content to be licensed.
Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson issued a similar statements. On social media, Johnson said that his lawyers had negotiated a “standard, arms length deal” that was later terminated.
“A year ago, a media startup pitched my company to provide content as an independent contractor. Our lawyers negotiated a standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated. We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme. My lawyers will handle anyone who states or suggests otherwise,” said Johnson.
“These allegations clearly show that I and other commentators were the victims of this scheme. I knew absolutely nothing about any of this fraudulent activity. Period. … The DoJ has never contacted me regarding this matter and I have no intention to comment further,” said Dave Rubin.
The sums of money paid were large. CBS notes: “One unidentified influencer’s contract included a $400,000 monthly fee, a $100,000 signing bonus and an additional performance bonus.”
Former Breitbart News editor and Trump administration official Sebastian Gorka said he had been approached by Chen to produce content for Tenet, and had turned down the money after doing his “due diligence.”
“The money looked great. But I wanted to know where it was coming from,” he said in a post on X. “After pushing repeatedly she gave me names of people who had no internet footprint — like one Eduard Grigoriann — or who had zero media connections. I mean none.
“It just didn’t add up.”
The indictment specifically labels Lauren Chen as the primary liaison between the Russian nationals and the talents that were allegedly recruited. It also said that Lauren Chen knew the source of her funding. In one particular instance, the indictment said that a producer took issue with posting a pro-Russian video from commentator Tucker Carlson that “Founder-2″ insisted on.
“Producer-I privately messaged Founder-2 on Discord: ‘They want me to post this’—referencing the video that Afanasyeva posted—but ‘it just feels like overt shilling.’ Founder-2 replied that Founder-I ‘thinks we should put it out there.’ Producer-I acquiesced, responding, ‘alright I’ll put it out tomorrow,’” said the indictment.
Over the past year, Lauren Chen has increasingly taken positions counter to mainstream conservative political thought, including opposition to Israel and discussion of repealing the 19th Amendment (which granted women the right to vote). In recent weeks, she had been advocating for conservatives to withhold their votes from former President Trump due to his pragmatic views on abortion.
Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, and Dave Rubin have maintained pro-Trump positions.
One common thread between the influencers named in the indictment is skepticism of U.S. policy in Ukraine, which Russia may have wished to amplify.
Speculation about other motives proliferated online on Wednesday, with Democrats suggesting that Russia had wanted to help Trump, and conservatives pointing out that Russia had supported conservatives opposed to Trump.
Breitbart News staff contributed to this report.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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