Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson and Tim Pool
CNN —
The unnamed Tennessee-based company that the Justice Department alleges was being funded by Russian operatives working as part of a Kremlin-orchestrated influence operation targeting the 2024 US election is Tenet Media, which is linked to right-wing commentators withmillions of subscribers on YouTube and other social media platforms, according to a US official briefed on the matter.
The indictment unsealed in New York’s Southern District accused two employees of RT, the Kremlin’s media arm, of funneling nearly $10 million to an unidentified company, described only as “Company 1” in court documents.
CNN has independently confirmed that “Company 1” is Tenet Media,which is a platform for independentcontentcreators.It is self-described as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues,” according to its website, which matches language contained in thenewlyunsealed indictment.
The alleged Russian operation tapped two people to set up the company in their names to add to its legitimacy and the two founders were aware Russian money backed the operation, according to the indictment.
The goal of the operation, according to prosecutors, was to fuel pro-Russian narratives, in part, by pushing content and news articles favoring Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and others who the Kremlin deemed to be friendlier to its interests.
Among the commentators listed on Tenet Media’s website are right-wing personalities Benny Johnson,Tim Pooland Dave Rubin. All have released statements saying theywere victims of the alleged Russian scheme and they maintained editorial control of the content they created.
Each has a loyal fanbase online, with a combined roughly 6 million followers on YouTube alone. Pool interviewed Trump on his podcast in May.
Wednesday’s indictment outlined how the American social media stars were hired by Tenet Media.Some of the creators were told the project was being bankrolled by a man named Eduard Grigoriann. “In truth and fact,” the indictment reads, “Grigoriann was a fictional persona.”
The indictment outlines how one of the social media stars was approached byTenet Media’s founder with an offer of $2 million a year to make videos for the company. One of the founders later wrote,“It would need to be closer to 5 million yearly for him to be interested,” according to the indictment.
The social media star expressed some skepticism about who was funding the deal and asked for more information about Grigoriann.
Eventually the social media star agreed on a contract of a $400,000 monthly fee to create “four weekly videos,” along with a $100,000 signing bonus.
Tenet Media’s US-based founders are not named in the indictment, but business records filed in Tennessee reveal two people connected to the company: Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan. A Twitter account for Donovan identifies him as the president of Tenet Media and his Instagram account describes Donovan as Chen’s husband.
A private message between the two in May 2021 read,“So we’re billing the Russians from the corporation, right?” Two weeks later, another message said, “Also, the Russians paid. So we’re good to bill them for the next month I guess,” the legal filing details.
Chen, who goes by the name “Lauren Southern” on social media,is a rightwing online influencer in her own right. She is listed as a commentator on Tenet Media’s website and has more than 700,000 followers on YouTube.
The Russian state-controlled media RT lists Chen as a contributor for several articles in 2021 and 2022. She is also linked to the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA.
A YouTube video referenced in the indictment further describes Tenet Media as “a project of Lauren Chen and her husband Liam.”
Neither Chen nor Donovan responded to CNN’s request for comment.
Others ensnared in the alleged Russian plot, however, insist they are the victims.
“We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme,” Johnson wrote in a post on X after the indictment was unsealed on Wednesday.
“Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims,” Poolsaid on X. “The show is produced in its entirety by our local team without input from anyone external to the company,” he added.
In a statement alsoposted to X, Rubin wrote, “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.”
Adding, “The DoJ has never contacted me regarding this matter and I have no intention to comment further.”
The DOJ’s revealing of the alleged Russian plot was part of a wider set of actions the Biden administration announcedWednesdayit was takingto tackle a major Russian government-backed effort to influence the2024 US presidential election including sanctions on 10 individuals and entities, and the seizure of 32 internet domains.
At Russian President Vladimir Putin’s direction, three Russian companies used fake profiles to promote false narratives on social media, US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. Internal documents produced by one of those Russian companies show one of the goals of the propaganda effort was to boost the candidacy ofTrumpor whoever emerged as the Republican nominee for president, according to an FBI affidavit.
Taken together with the indictment of the RT employees, the actions represent the Biden administration’s most significant public response yet to alleged Russian influence operations targeting American voters. After the USaccusedIran of trying to hack both the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns last month, Wednesday’sactions are a reminder that US officials continue to see Russia as a prominent foreign influence threat to November’s election,sources familiar with the matter told CNN ahead of the announcements.
This story has been updated with additional details.
