Earlier in the day, US newspaper Rappahannock News reported that agents of the FBI have been conducting searches in the house of the Russian-American political analyst Dimitri K. Simes in Rappahannock County, Virginia.
"No one notified me about the search in advance. I am in Moscow and have not been to the United States since October 2022. Accordingly, there is not and could not be anything in my house related to my current life and activities," Simes said.
Dimitri Simes Jr., son of Dimitri K. Simes, told Sputnik on Friday that there had been no advance warning of the raid, and they still did not know what the FBI’s objectives were.
"Based on their actions so far, this looks like an intimidation effort first and foremost," Simes Jr. said.
According to Simes Jr, his father has not been in the US since October 2022, and there were "no available items or information of interest" in the family home.
"The logical potential motive is to intimidate him and other voices critical of [US President Joe] Biden’s Ukraine policy. The likely goal is to scare anyone who could help provide a potential off-ramp in the current geopolitical showdown between Russia and the United States," Simes Jr, said,
Journalist Simes, 76, moderated the plenary session of 2023 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). He also co-hosts "The Big Game" show on Russia’s Channel One.