The government has sanctioned several Russian individuals and entities for “malign influence efforts” aimed at interfering with the US presidential election in November, the Treasury and Justice departments announced Wednesday.
Among the 10 individuals and two entities sanctioned by the Treasury Department are Russian state-owned media network RT’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan and deputy Elizaveta Brodskaia.
“Today’s action underscores the US government’s ongoing efforts to hold state-sponsored actors accountable for activities that aim to deteriorate public trust in our institutions,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
The US Treasury Department said Margarita Simonyan and others affiliated with the network covertly recruited social media influencers to sway US public opinion and spread pro-Kremlin messages.
US orders 32 domains to be seized
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has also ordered the seizure of 32 domains “used in Russian government-directed foreign malign influence campaigns,” it said in a statement.
“(Russian) President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle … directed Russian public relations companies to promote disinformation and state-sponsored narratives as part of a campaign to influence the 2024 US Presidential Election,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said.
“The sites we are seizing today were filled with Russian government propaganda that had been created by the Kremlin to reduce international support for Ukraine, bolster pro-Russian policies and interests, and influence voters in the United States and other countries,” Garland added.
More to follow…
dh/jcg (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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