US takes aim at Russia in effort to thwart election interference

FBI points to alleged Russian influence operation that included efforts to 'reduce international support for Ukraine, bolster pro-Russian policies and interests, and influence voters'

US Attorney General Merrick Garland with deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco and FBI director Christopher Wray during a meeting of the Justice Department's Election Threats Task Force in Washington. EShow more

President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday announced a series of actions aimed at disrupting an alleged Russian-backed operation to meddle in this year's elections.

The US Justice Department unsealed charges against two Russian citizens accused of laundering nearly $10 million to pay for a secret foreign influence campaign and revealed the seizure of several dozen web domains allegedly created by Moscow-backed entities to “covertly spread Russian government propaganda”.

The alleged Russian influence operation included efforts to “reduce international support for Ukraine, bolster pro-Russian policies and interests, and influence voters in the US and foreign elections”, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed in Pennsylvania federal court.

The FBI cited an internal planning document from one of the entities saying it was in Russia’s interest to ensure that Donald Trump or another Republican candidate wins the White House on election day. The documents are redacted, but the references to “US Political Party A” and “Candidate A” match the Republican Party and Mr Trump, Bloomberg reported.

“We have no tolerance for attempts by authoritarian regimes to exploit our democratic system of government,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said while announcing the charges and other court actions before an election threat task force meeting.

“We will be relentlessly aggressive, encountering and disrupting attempts by Russia and Iran as well as China or any other foreign malign actor to interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy.”

The news comes after the FBI announced last month that Iran was behind a recent hack on the Trump campaign that resulted in the theft of internal documents.

“Our foreign adversary's primary goal is to undermine confidence in our democratic institutions and values, including working covertly to influence and manipulate our elections,” deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco said.

“Today's actions, as laid out by the Attorney General, reaffirm that 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.”

The Treasury Department also announced new sanctions on Russian state-funded broadcaster RT and its top editors for trying to recruit “unwitting American influencers” as part of its “malign influence” campaign, while the State Department announced a new visa restriction policy and a $10 million “Rewards for Justice” offer in addition to Foreign Missions Act determinations.