MAGA media company slammed for doing 'Putin’s bidding' as DOJ ramps up bombshell investigation
On Wednesday, August 4, arch-conservative former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) announced that she will be "voting for Kamala Harris" for president, attacking GOP nominee Donald Trump as a "danger" to the Constitution. Cheney has been vehemently critical of Trump and the MAGA movement's views on foreign policy and the fondness that many MAGA Republicans have expressed for Russian President Vladimir Putin — and Cheney's Harris endorsement was a major news story when the Daily Beast reported that a Tennessee-based pro-Trump media company, Tenet Media, has "been accused of receiving millions of dollars from two employees of Russian state-backed media company Russia Today (RT) in order to influence American viewers."
The Daily Beast's Owen Levine reports, "According to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the Russian employees created a $10 million scheme 'to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.' While described as 'U.S. Company 1' in an unsealed indictment Wednesday, clues suggest that it is Tenet Media, which has been named in various reports as the firm in question. The indictment describes how Company-1's website describes itself as a 'network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.' It employs six commentators as its 'talent.'"
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a Never Trump conservative, had a lot to say about the Beast's reporting on Thursday morning, September 5. The former GOP congressman slammed MAGA Republicans who are "knowingly or unknowingly promoting Russian propaganda."
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Scarborough told viewers, "It's just cynicism…. (They are) always apologizing for Russian, always apologizing for Putin."
Journalist Ken Dilanian, who specializes in national security matters for NBC News and MSNBC, told Scarborough that the Tenet story and Garland's allegations are a disturbing example of the Kremlin trying to influence U.S. politics.
There have been plenty of reactions on X, formerly Twitter, as well.
Legal expert and former federal prosecutor Richard Signorelli tweeted the Beast's report, commenting, "Trump is Putin's shill and rescuer if he wins. Does everyone understand what this election is all about?"
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HuffPost journalist Yashar Ali noted, "The US Department of Justice alleges that Tenet Media, which has Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, and Dave Rubin on its roster, received $10 million from the Russian government to publish content as part of a Russian influence operation. Tenet is owned and controlled by Lauren Chen, who is affiliated with Turning Point USA, and her husband Liam Donovan."
Law professor Scott Bassett tweeted, "Can MAGA explain why they hate America so much that they will do Putin's bidding?"
Physics professor Alex Spahn posted, "Evidence from the DOJ includes these 'campaign topics' they pushed. Notice these are essentially that everything MAGA is about. Russia paying (Tenet) Media is just scratching the surface of a long-running effort to undermine/destabilize US politics."
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Read the Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).
