The United States has indicted two employees of Russia’s RT and imposed sanctions on senior editors of the state-funded news outlet, accusing them of attempting to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election. On Wednesday, the Treasury Department sanctioned 10 individuals and two entities, including RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan and deputy editor Elizaveta Brodskaia.
“These actions highlight the U.S. government’s ongoing commitment to holding state-sponsored actors accountable for efforts to undermine public trust in our institutions,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. She added that the Treasury remains steadfast in protecting democratic values and election integrity.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, leading a meeting of the Election Threats Task Force, announced that two Russia-based RT employees had been indicted in New York for money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They allegedly funded a Tennessee company to spread pro-Russian content and hired U.S. social media influencers to amplify messaging aligned with Russia’s goal of deepening domestic divisions in the U.S.
RT dismissed the allegations on its Telegram channel, calling them predictable and cliched: “Three things in life are inevitable: death, taxes, and RT’s interference in American elections.”
Garland also noted the Justice Department had seized 32 internet domains used by the Russian government to covertly interfere in U.S. elections. He pointed to President Vladimir Putin’s “inner circle” as directing Russian PR firms to promote disinformation and manipulate narratives to sway the 2024 election.
Russia has been accused of election interference since the 2016 race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The Treasury described Simonyan as a key figure in Russia’s malign influence campaigns, and Brodskaia was said to report directly to Putin.
After the 2020 election, U.S. intelligence officials accused Putin of orchestrating operations to favor Trump. U.S. authorities have consistently warned of ongoing foreign interference, with Russia being the most persistent threat. In a Senate hearing in May, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines highlighted Russia, China, and Iran as major foreign actors but assured that the government is prepared to safeguard U.S. democracy.
