The Department of Justice is investigating Americans with links to Vladimir Putin. The move is aimed at ensuring there is no Russian interference in the Presidential election later this year and comes after the FBI searched the homes of UN and US officials. The federal agency searched the properties of former United Nations Special Commission weapons inspector Scott Ritter, an unnamed US Marine Corps intelligence officer, and former Trump adviser Dimitri Simes.
Scott Ritter is a regular contributor to Russian media and is known to support and repeat Kremlin soundbites on Russia’s war with Ukraine. Earlier this year, he visited Chechnya and delivered a speech offering “friendship” between that country and the United States. He also offered assurance that “America isn’t a bad place” but added, “The state is a different matter.”
In 2011, Ritter was convicted in connection with an underage internet prostitution sting, but told reporters that the recent FBI searches were related to alleged violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires Americans to disclose any political activities related to foreign countries. He denied any wrongdoing.
Dimitri Simes hosts a current affairs show on a Kremlin TV channel. Investigators searched his Virginia home and he later told a separate Russian state channel that the this was an attempt to frighten, discredit, and intimidate him. The Russian-born American citizen frequently advocates better relations between the US and Russia and also worked as an adviser to Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. He returned to live in Russia in 2022 and is under separate investigation for alleged infringements and violations of American sanctions against Moscow.
US intelligence officials warned in July that Russia intends to run information campaigns inside the US to try to influence how Americans vote in November. The Department of Justice furthermore believes that the Kremlin used social media bots and “disinformation” to persuade voters to back Donald Trump. Intelligence agents say they have “have not observed a shift in Russia’s preferences for the presidential race from past elections.”
The FBI did not make any arrests following the searches but did indicate that investigations would continue.
