Indictment reveals wide-ranging Russian influence operation exploiting right-wing influencers: On Wednesday, the Justice Department unsealed charges against two RT (Russia today) employees, revealing a major Russian influence operation called “Doppelganger” that sought to spread Russian narratives in the US and decrease support for Ukraine, among other things. At the center of the ensuing scandal is Tennessee media company Tenet Media, unnamed but clearly described in the indictment, which received millions of dollars in Kremlin funding, and which hosts a number of right-wing commentators and social media influencers, several of whom have proclaimed themselves victims for their role as (apparently unwitting) agents of Kremlin propaganda (there is indeed a long history of Russian and Soviet exploitation of dupes and “useful idiots”). YouTube has since “terminated” Tenet Media’s channel and four others linked to Tenet founder, conservative Canadian influencer Lauren Chen, who was also fired from conservative media company Blaze, and Tenet has since closed its doors. The two RT employees named in the indictment are at large. 

Charges against Simes: The US Justice Department announced charges Thursday against Russian-American commentator Dmitri Simes and his wife Anastasia for alleged sanctions violations, following an FBI raid on their Virginia home in August. Simes, a US citizen since 1973 and 2016 Trump campaign advisor, was formerly the CEO of the think tank Center for National Interest, but left that role in 2022 to work as a commentator for Russian state TV. Both he and his wife are at large and believed to be in Russia.     

Sanctions target RT management, LNG-2: On Thursday, the US State Department announced sanctions on two companies and two vessels linked to the Arctic LNG-2 project. LNG-2, a TDP bête noire, is a flagship energy project for Putin, and a case where US sanctions appear to be having a noticeable effect. Nonetheless, Russia is trying to adapt to the sanctions to keep the project alive, including through challenging LNG ship to ship transfers as it has long done with the crude-oil-shipping “shadow fleet.” Continued action to prevent this adaptation is thus required through designations and diplomacy. The LNG-2 action follows a raft of new designations by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Wednesday, including the defendants in the above-mentioned Doppelganger indictment, as well as other RT management (including editor-in-chief Margaritya Simonyan) and a pro-Kremlin hacker group.