The indictment of two RT employees includes allegations that they implemented a nearly $10 million plan to fund a Tennessee-based company as one of their “covert projects.”

Sept. 4, 2024, 6:19 PM PDT
By Ryan J. Reilly, Lisa Rubin, Brandy Zadrozny and David Ingram

WASHINGTON — Employees of the Russia-backed media network RT funded and directed a scheme that sent millions of dollars to prominent right-wing commentators through a media company that appears to match the description of Tenet Media, a leading platform for pro-Trump voices, according to an NBC News review of charging documents, business records and social media profiles.

The indictment on Wednesday of two RT employees, Konstantin Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, includes allegations that the duo implemented a nearly $10 million plan to fund an unnamed Tennessee-based company as one of their “covert projects” to influence American politics by posting videos to TikTok, Instagram, X and YouTube.

The company’s description matches that of Tenet Media, according to a review by NBC News of details included in the indictment. Prosecutors said that the website of “Company-1” describes itself as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues,” the exact same language used by Tenet Media on its website and social media channels. The indictment also states that Company-1 is registered in Tennessee and changed its name on or about May 22, 2023. Tennessee Secretary of State records found by NBC News show that Tenet Media entered its new assumed name on the same date: May 22, 2023.

Tenet has partnered with six commentators: Lauren Southern, Tim Pool, Tayler Hansen, Matt Christiansen, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson. The indictment refers to six commentators, who are not named.

Details included in the indictment match those of two of Tenet’s personalities: Rubin and Pool. As of Wednesday, Rubin’s “The Rubin Report” YouTube channel had 2.44 million subscribers. The indictment refers to “Commentator-1” as having over 2.4 million YouTube subscribers. A person with over 1.3 million YouTube subscribers is referred to as “Commentator-2.” Pool now has 1.37 million subscribers. The indictment also refers to three other commentators, including one with female pronouns, but lacked any information that could directly identify their channels.

It is unclear from the indictment the extent to which each of the commentators realized where the money was coming from, though it stated that “Commentator-1” and “Commentator-2” were unaware they were being paid by Russian efforts and had been deceived about the source of the funding. It found that $8.7 million was eventually sent “to the production companies of Commentator-1 , Commentator-2, and Commentator-3 alone.” The payments allegedly made up 90% of the deposits made to the company’s account between October 2023 and August 2024.

Tenet Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News. A representative for RT responded to a request to comment with a series of text messages including “Hahahaha!” and “We gotta earn our Kremlin paycheck somehow.”

Pool said, in part, in a lengthy statement on X: “Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims. I cannot speak for anyone else at the company as to what they do or to what they are instructed.”

Johnson, also on X, said: “A year ago, a media startup pitched my company to provide content as an independent contractor. Our lawyers negotiated a standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated. We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme. My lawyers will handle anyone who states or suggests otherwise.”

Hansen said, in part, on X: “These allegations come as a complete shock to me and the other hosts at TENET Media. I want to be as clear as possible, I was never directed to report on any topic and had complete freedom and control over my reporting at all times. I would never agree to any arrangement where I am not the sole person in charge of the stories I cover and content I create.”

Rubin said, in part, on X:” These allegations clearly show that I and other commentators were the victims of this scheme. I knew absolutely nothing about any of this fraudulent activity. Period.”

Christiansen said, in part, on X: “At no point has anyone ever directed me what to say or not to say, and I would never agree to anything otherwise. My videos and streams for Tenet are exactly the same as my videos and streams on my personal channels. Every word is from me and me alone.”

The allegations came as part of a wide-ranging move by the Departments of Justice, State and Treasury to target what the Biden administration says are Russian government-sponsored attempts to manipulate U.S. public opinion ahead of the November election. That included charges against the two RT employees, who were accused of conspiring to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York.

The company that would become Tenet Media was registered in Nashville, Tennessee, according to state business records that list the company’s registered agents as Liam Donovan and Lauren Tam. Donovan is a producer, according to his social media pages. Neither of them are named in the indictment.

Tam is better known as Lauren Chen, a ​​video creator for The Blaze and a contributor to Turning Points USA. She is also listed on RT’s website as a contributor. Online, Chen has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticized U.S. support for Ukraine. Public records show Donovan is married to Lauren Tam, which is also reflected in the public profiles of Chen.

Donovan and Tam did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tenet has emerged in recent years as a home for staunch pro-Trump voices, many of whom have interviewed Trump and Trump family members while also supporting conservative causes that mesh with Russia’s own interests. Johnson interviewed Donald Trump Jr. in a video for Tenet Media in February. Many of Tenet’s personalities have espoused anti-Ukraine views.
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Tenet Media personalities have also downplayed the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. One of Tenet’s commentators, Hansen, was inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack and took video of the death of rioter Ashli Babbitt. He testified last year in a House Republican hearing on the prosecution of Jan. 6 defendants. He was not charged in relation to those actions.

The indictment lays out how RT officials — in the wake of sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 — created an “entire empire of covert projects” meant to shape the public opinions of “Western audiences,” in this case using U.S. citizens who acted as intermediaries to pro-Trump political commentators, communicating with them about strategy, payment negotiations and video distribution.

The indictment includes allegations that some Tenet commentators drove a hard bargain. In one exchange, company officials in internal communications said that “Commentator-1” — likely Rubin — said “it would need to be closer to 5 million yearly for him to be interested,” while “Commentator-2” — likely Pool — said “it would take 100k per weekly episode to make it worth his while.” That led one of the company’s founders to allegedly say that it would be “very hard” for the company to “recoup the costs” based on ad revenue from web traffic or sponsors alone, but that they decided to move forward anyway.

The indictment also alleges that the two defendants and the two “founders” told two of the commentators that the company was sponsored by a private investor named “Eduard Grigoriann,” a fictional persona they described as an “accomplished financial professional” who held positions at a multinational bank in both Brussels and France. The founders, according to the indictment, referenced Grigoriann as their investor with Commentators-1 & 2, but privately acknowledged to each other in online communications that their real investors were “the Russians.”

The indictment further alleges the RT operatives pushed the U.S. commentators to share the Russian-funded content with their larger audiences and openly worried about how few of their “raw videos” were being posted by certain of the company’s talent.

The indictment adds to growing scrutiny on some internet commentators who have increasingly embraced Trump and much of his worldview.

Tim Pool began as a digital journalist for news outlets including Vice News and Fusion, but in recent years has become one of the right’s most popular online influencers. While decrying the right-wing label, Pool has voiced strong support for the re-election of Donald Trump and has hosted guests from the conservative fringe including Proud Boys, Covid conspiracy theorists and avowed antisemites. Pool has reportedly earned more than $1.3 million from YouTube’s livestream “Super Chat” feature.

Pool, who interviewed Trump this year, has been a frequent critic of U.S. aid for Ukraine, arguing that it equates to a provocation of Russia.

“Ukraine is our enemy,” Pool posted on X last month, responding to an allegation that a Ukrainian man was involved in the 2022 undersea explosions that damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany.

Rubin, a self-described libertarian, was an early creator of the “intellectual dark web,” a right-wing online counter-culture movement. His YouTube show, “The Rubin Report,” has promoted fringe and extremist voices. His more recent content is decidedly conservative and, as he announced on Twitter, he registered as a Republican in 2022. Rubin is also a vocal critic of Ukraine, arguing it “can’t win” the war against Russia. Last year, he called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a “sellout” for wearing a tie with Ukraine’s blue and yellow colors.

Southern is a far-right activist from Canada and long-time YouTube personality who was once banned from Airbnb for her affiliation with unspecified groups. She did not respond to a request for comment and did not post on X about the indictment.

Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund who studies disinformation noted this wasn’t Russia’s first attempt at covertly funding U.S. media operations.

“There are many, many, many examples going back to the Cold War, but certainly more recently, of Russia trying to covertly finance news organizations or content creators who produce content that’s beneficial to Russia,” Schafer said.

He noted Maffick Media, a network of online video channels that targeted millennials with content critical of U.S. foreign policy and American media that in 2019 was discovered to have been secretly funded by Ruptly, an RT subsidiary. The campaign found nowhere near the success of Tenet’s Schafer said.

“Nothing like Tim Pool’s numbers among conservatives,” Schafer said. “You’re not dealing with a sort of influential Twitter account. This is a podcaster who’s reaching millions and has connections to get him in front of Trump. So yeah, this would be the most influential person that they’ve been able to somehow support.”
Ryan J. Reilly