司法部长梅里克·加兰(Merrick Garland)周三宣布，将全面打击俄罗斯政府通过旨在向美国选民传播虚假信息的秘密网络影响即将到来的2024年大选的决斗行为。
几个月来，拜登政府一直公开警告俄罗斯通过虚假信息和宣传来影响美国人，以播下对选举的不信任。
在周三司法部的一次会议上，加兰和美国联邦调查局主任克里斯托弗·雷(Christopher Wray)强调了国内外试图影响选民的事件，以及对选举管理者的普遍和日益增长的威胁。
加兰说:“司法部将不会容忍一个独裁政权企图利用我们国家的思想自由交流来秘密推进自己的宣传努力，我们对此事的调查仍在进行中。”
美国司法部(Justice Department)指控，俄罗斯国家控制的媒体机构“今日俄罗斯”(Russia Today)的两名员工实施了一项近1000万美元的计划，“资助并指导一家总部位于田纳西州的公司发布和传播被认为有利于俄罗斯政府的内容。”
司法部长表示，为了实现这一目标，这两名员工——31岁的Kostiantyn Kalashnikov，又名Kostya和27岁的Elena Afanasyeva——据称指示该公司与社交媒体影响者签订合同，以扩大俄罗斯的宣传。
“该公司从未向有影响力的人或他们的数百万追随者透露它与RT和俄罗斯政府的关系。相反，被告和该公司声称，该公司是由一个私人投资者赞助的，但那个私人投资者是一个虚构的人物，”加兰说。
这家总部位于田纳西州的公司在起诉书中被描述为“美国公司-1”。
熟悉此事的消息人士告诉美国广播公司新闻，该公司是特尼特媒体，其网站上的视频来自受欢迎的右翼和亲特朗普的评论员本尼·约翰逊、戴夫·鲁宾、蒂姆·普尔、劳伦·南方和另外两人。
起诉书没有指控任何评论员故意参与这一所谓的阴谋，起诉书特别指出两名评论员“被欺骗”
蒂姆·普尔(Tim Pool)在X上发布了一份关于这些指控的长篇声明，称如果这些指控属实，他和特尼特媒体的其他人“受到了欺骗，是受害者。”本尼·约翰逊在他自己的帖子中说，“我们对今天起诉书中的指控感到不安，这表明我和其他有影响的人是这个所谓计划的受害者。”周三，当记者通过电话联系到田纳西州数据库中被称为该公司代理人的人(在美国备案文件中被确认为特尼特媒体的所有者和总裁)时，他拒绝接受美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)关于起诉或指控的采访，只是说:“我现在对此无可奉告。...现在，我不得不拒绝向你透露任何相关信息。”
官员们说，俄罗斯实体还创建了假网站，据称是为了进一步影响选举。
“RT利用在美国境内生活和工作的人来促成与美国媒体人物的合同，以便在这里制作和传播俄罗斯的宣传材料。这些内容被标榜为合法的独立新闻，而事实上，其中大部分是由为俄罗斯政府工作的RT员工在俄罗斯创作的，”雷说。“第二次行动揭露了在俄罗斯政府指导和控制下工作的公司的更恶劣的活动，这些公司创建媒体网站，诱骗美国人在不知不觉中消费俄罗斯的宣传材料。”
副总检察长丽莎·莫纳科(Lisa Monaco)表示，他们将不带任何恐惧或偏袒地继续调查选举威胁。
摩纳哥说:“俄罗斯仍然是我们选举的主要外国威胁，正如情报界公开报道的那样，正如我以前警告的那样，伊朗也在加快努力影响我们的选举，包括总统选举。”。
当被问及该局对那些打算干涉总统选举的人的回应是什么时，雷也向伊朗和中国发出了一个直言不讳的信息:“别闹了。”
司法部长说，俄罗斯正在使用新技术，如人工智能和其他网络技术。
“他们现在以一种以前不可能的方式使用机器人农场，因此这是一个比以往任何时候都更大的威胁。我只想说，事实是俄罗斯几十年来一直干预我们的社会，试图制造不和，”加兰说。
DOJ还宣布，它的目标是俄罗斯的假情报运动，被称为“重身幽灵”
最新公布的法庭记录显示，DOJ查封了32个互联网域名，声称这些域名被俄罗斯政府和政府支持的行为者用于涉嫌参与重身幽灵影响力运动，传播旨在减少国际社会对乌克兰的支持、增强对亲俄政策的支持以及影响美国选民的宣传。
加兰周三还强调了国内威胁全国选举官员的努力。
司法部长说，自3月以来，选举威胁工作队参加了超过25次参与、培训和桌面演习，包括执法伙伴和选举界的伙伴。
加兰说，在未来几周内，特别工作组代表将在实地与选举工作人员会面，11月初，在选举日之前和之后，美国联邦调查局将在其总部指挥中心接待联邦合作伙伴，以实时处理与选举有关的事件、问题和潜在犯罪。
“选举官员和行政人员不需要独自应对这种威胁环境，”他补充说。
CNN首先报道了预期执法行动的消息。
在周三的一份声明中，国务卿安东尼·布林肯概述了国务院表示将采取的步骤，以“反击克里姆林宫支持的媒体试图影响或干预2024年美国选举的恶意行动”。"
这些措施包括引入新的签证限制政策来惩罚对手，将RT的母公司和子公司指定为受外国政府控制的实体，并根据其“正义奖励”计划，为提供与俄罗斯情报相关的黑客组织RaHDit的信息提供现金奖励。
“今天的声明凸显了一些外国政府破坏美国民主制度的程度。但是这些外国政府也应该知道，我们不会容忍外国恶意分子故意干涉和破坏自由公正的选举，”布林肯说。
此外，美国财政部外国资产控制办公室(Office of Foreign Assets Control)周三表示，它正在指定10名个人(包括几名RT员工)和两个实体，作为美国对“莫斯科针对2024年美国总统选举的恶意影响努力”的回应的一部分。
美国财政部在一份声明中表示，一个“黑客行动主义”组织的负责人拉赫迪特和两名同伙也是周三制裁的一部分。
Biden admin targets Russia over 2024 election disinformation efforts
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a sweeping crackdown Wednesday on dueling efforts by the Russian government to influence the upcoming 2024 election through covert networks aimed at spreading disinformation to American voters.
For months, the Biden administration has been publicly warning of Russia's efforts to influence Americans through disinformation and propaganda to sow distrust in the election.
In a meeting Wednesday at the Justice Department, Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray highlighted both foreign and domestic incidents of attempts to influence voters, as well as pervasive and growing threats against those who administer elections.
"The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country's free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing," Garland said.
The Justice Department alleged that two employees of Russia Today, or RT -- a Russian state-controlled media outlet, implemented a nearly $10 million scheme "to fund and direct a Tennessee-based company to publish and disseminate content deemed favorable to the Russian government."
To carry this out, the attorney general said the two employees -- 31-year-old Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, also known as Kostya, and Elena Afanasyeva, 27 -- allegedly directed the company to contract with social media influencers to amplify Russian propaganda.
"The company never disclosed to the influencers or to their millions of followers its ties to RT and the Russian government. Instead, the defendants and the company claimed that the company was sponsored by a private investor, but that private investor was a fictitious persona," Garland said.
The unnamed Tennessee-based company is described in the indictment as "U.S. Company-1."
Sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News that the company is Tenet Media, whose website features videos from the popular right-wing and pro-Trump commentators Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, Lauren Southern and two others.
The indictment does not allege that any commentators knowingly took part in this alleged scheme, with the indictment specifically saying that two commentators were "deceive[d]."
Tim Pool posted a lengthy statement on X about the allegations, saying that if they are true, he and others at Tenet Media "were deceived and are victims." In his own post, Benny Johnson said, "We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme." When reached by phone on Wednesday, the person named as the company’s agent in the Tennessee state database -- identified as Tenet Media's owner and president in the U.S. filings -- declined to speak with ABC News about the indictment or the allegations, saying only: "I don't have a comment on it right now. ... Right now I just have to deny you any further info about it."
Russian entities also created fake websites to allegedly further influence the election, officials said.
"RT has used people living and working inside the U.S. to facilitate contracts with American media figures to create and disseminate Russian propaganda here. The content was pitched as legitimate independent news when, in fact, much of it was created in Russia by RT employees who work for the Russian government," Wray said. "The second operation reveals even more malign activities by companies working under the direction and control of the Russian government, companies that created media websites to trick Americans into unwittingly consuming Russian propaganda."
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said they will continue to investigate election threats without fear or favor.
"Russia remains a predominant foreign threat to our elections, and as the intelligence community has publicly reported, and as I have previously warned, Iran also is accelerating its efforts to influence our elections, including the presidential election," Monaco said.
Wray also delivered a blunt message for Iran and China when asked what the bureau's response would be to those who intend to meddle in the presidential election: "Knock it off."
The attorney general said Russia is using new techniques Russia such as artificial intelligence and other cyber techniques.
"They're now using bot farms in a way that was not possible before, and therefore it's a bigger threat than it ever was before. I would just say that [the] reality is that Russia has meddled in our society and tried to sow discord for decades," Garland said.
The DOJ also announced that it's targeting a Russian disinformation campaign referred to as "Doppelganger."
The DOJ has seized 32 internet domains it claims have been used by the Russian government and government-sponsored actors to allegedly engage in the Doppelganger influence campaign by spreading propaganda intended to reduce international support for Ukraine, bolster support for pro-Russian policies and influence American voters, according to newly unsealed court records.
Garland on Wednesday also highlighted domestic efforts to threaten election officials around the country.
Since March, the Election Threats Task Force has participated in more than 25 engagements, trainings and tabletop exercises, including both with law enforcement partners and partners in the election community, the attorney general said.
Over the next several weeks, task force representatives will be on the ground meeting with election workers and, in early November, both in advance of and after Election Day, the FBI will host federal partners at its headquarters command center to address events, issues and potential crimes related to the elections in real time, Garland said.
"Election officials and administrators do not need to navigate this threat environment alone," he added.
CNN first reported news of the expected law enforcement actions.
In a statement Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined the steps the State Department said it's taking to "counter Kremlin-backed media outlets' malicious operations seeking to influence or interfere in the 2024 U.S. elections."
The measures include introducing a new visa restriction policy to penalize adversaries, designating RT's parent company and subsidiaries as entities controlled by a foreign government, and offering cash rewards for information on the Russian intelligence-linked hacking group RaHDit under its "Rewards for Justice" program.
"Today's announcement highlights the lengths some foreign governments go to undermine American democratic institutions. But these foreign governments should also know that we will not tolerate foreign malign actors intentionally interfering and undermining free and fair elections," Blinken said.
In addition, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said Wednesday that it's designating 10 individuals -- including several RT employees -- and two entities as part of the U.S. response to "Moscow's malign influence efforts targeting the 2024 U.S. presidential election."
The head of a "hacktivist" group RaHDit and two associates were also part of Wednesday's sanctions, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
