Two people who set up an alleged media front for the Russian government may be cooperating with authorities, a former federal prosecutor has said.
Andrew Weissmann wrote that there were “curious questions” raised by the indictment of two Russians who were allegedly involved in the scheme.
Weissmann was a lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office while it was investigating alleged links between Donald Trump and the Russian government.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, Weissmann noted: “The new DOJ charging documents raise a curious question: DOJ charges two lower-level employees of a Russian front company, but despite providing chapter and verse about the complicity of the two ‘Founders’ of that company, the Founders are not charged.”
“My Suspicion (based on my prior DOJ experience): the Founders were charged a while ago, under seal, and flipped, i.e. are cooperating with the USG [United States Government].”
Mueller’s final report found no evidence of conspiracy between Trump and the Russian government but added that the “investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome,” including hacking the Hillary Clinton campaign’s email account.
A profile and resume of the non-existent Eduard Grigoriann, which federal prosecutors claim was used as a front for Russian government investment in a pro-Putin media company. Prosecutors included the image in an indictment of two Russians allegedly involved in the scheme. The Department blurred Grigoriann’s face in case the image is based on a real person.
Department of Justice
Multiple times in the indictment, the two founders are accused of illegal acts, including failure to register the media company as an agent of the Russian government. Their Tennessee-based company is identified in the indictment only as “U.S. Company-1” and has been identified by CNN as Tenet Media, which matches the description of U.S Company-1.
“Since publicly launching in or about November 2023, U.S. Company-1 has posted nearly 2,000 videos that have garnered more than 16 million views on YouTube alone. U.S. Company-1 never disclosed to its viewers that it was funded and directed by RT. Nor did U.S. Company-1 or its two founders and principal executives (“Founder-1 ” and “Founder-2″) register with the Attorney General as an agent of a foreign principal, as required by law,” the indictment states.
The indictment also states that a company producer was concerned that a Tucker Carlson video looked like “overt shilling” for the Russian government. The producer was concerned that the Carlson video was so pro-Russian that it might expose the Tennessee company to allegations that it was promoting the Russian government.
After expressing concerns that Carlson’s Moscow video looked like propaganda the producer was told to release it on social media accounts that were allegedly controlled by the Russian government, according to a federal indictment released on Wednesday.
In reality, the video was created for Carlson’s online channel, The Tucker Carlson Network and followed Carlson’s defense of aspects of Russian policy.
Newsweek sought email comment from Carlson on Wednesday and there is no suggestion that Carlson knew of the Tennessee company or its activities.
The conservative commentator’s visit to Moscow in February, which included an interview with President Vladimir Putin was criticized by some in the west for its pro-Russian tone.
One of Carlson’s videos included a visit to a Moscow supermarket in which he expressed amazement at shopping trolleys that could be released by inserting a coin. Such technology exists in most western countries.
At the time, the BBC noted: “Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s visit to Moscow has received near-constant coverage in Russia’s state media, as he prepares to interview President Vladimir Putin.
Social media has also been awash with images of him visiting sites around Moscow, as his every move is followed.”
His supermarket visit was also heavily mocked by Jon Stewart on the comedy news programme, The Daily Show.
The indictment, which was released by New York federal prosecutors, accuses two employees of pro-Putin media organization, Russia Today, of funneling nearly $10 million to the Tennessee media company.
CNN has identified the unnamed company as Tenet Media, which states on its website that it is a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.”
Newsweek sought email comment from Tenet Media on Thursday.
A statement from the U.S attorney’s office in Manhattan states that it has charged “Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, a/k/a “Kostya,” and Elena Afanasyeva, a/k/a “Lena,” with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva are at large.”
Kalashnikov, 31, and Afanasyeva, 27, are accused of publishing Russian propaganda on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and X, through the Tennessee company.
In a statement, Merrick Garland, the US attorney general, said the pair created content for US audiences “with hidden Russian government messaging.”
If apprehended and convicted, the pair could face five years in prison on the FARA violation charge and 20 years on the money laundering charges.
Prosecutors do no identify Tucker Carlson by name but the timing and circumstances described in the indictment match his Moscow visit exactly.
The indictment alleges that “on or about February 15, 2024, Afanasyeva (as “Helena Shudra”) shared with U.S. Company-I a video of a well-known U.S. political commentator visiting a grocery store in Russia. Afanasyeva posted the video in the Producer Discord Channel. Later that day, Producer-1 privately messaged Founder-2 on Discord: “They want me to post this”—referencing the video that Afanasyeva had posted—but “it just feels like overt shilling.” Founder-2 replied that Founder-I “thinks we should put it out there.” Producer-1 acquiesced, responding, “Alright I’ll put it out tomorrow.”
The indictment also claims that the company invented a fake Canada-based investor, Eduard Grigoriann, to hide the true source of its funding.
That allegedly included creating a fake photo of Grigoriann looking out the window of his private plane and an elaborate resume to go along with it.
