The Biden administration is reportedly planning to roll out new charges against RT on Friday as part of Washington’s wider bold (but evidence-free) claims of Russian media meddling in the US democratic process.
“We’ve been broadcasting straight out of the KGB headquarters all this time,” RT said in a tongue-in-cheek response to CNN after the US broadcaster reported, citing a senior Biden administration official and three other sources, that Washington is planning to “expose” the Russian news channel’s “key role in the Kremlin’s global intelligence and influence operations.”
The ‘revelations’ are expected to include a State Department report based on declassified US intel alleging that RT is plugged into Russian intelligence ops, with the ostensible aim of “provid[ing] countries with information about the risks associated with RT activities.”
RT’s scope goes beyond news (or “propaganda,” in CNN’s parlance), and includes “covert influence operations” and even “military procurement,” according to one of CNN’s sources.
Last week, the DoJ, Treasury and State Department jointly announced sanctions and/or criminal charges against a dozen individuals and entities affiliated with Russian media, seized 32 internet domains, and took other steps to try to reduce Russian media’s reach ahead of the upcoming November presidential elections in the US.
The allegations have been accompanied by state-sanctioned violence and intimidation tactics, with at least one RT employee beat up and subjected to an intimate body search during a raid on he Miami home this week by 20 armed FBI agents. The FBI did not bring any criminal charges against her, and she subsequently left the US out of concerns for her well-being.