US sanctions ‘Russian agent’ in Ukraine who worked with Rudy Giuliani
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Washington — The Treasury department sanctioned Andrii Derkach, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who met with Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, in 2019, alleging he is a Russian agent trying to influence the 2020 US presidential election.
Between May and July of 2020, Derkach released edited audio tapes and other unsupported information with the intent to discredit US officials, the department said in a statement on Thursday. Three other people associated with the Kremlin-linked Russian troll farm Internet Research Agency were also sanctioned.
Derkach met with Giuliani in Kiev, even as top Ukrainian officials avoided the US president’s unofficial emissary. Giuliani’s actions in the country later factored into Trump’s impeachment.
Leaked recordings allegedly featuring Democrat Joe Biden, released in a heavily edited version by the Ukrainian legislator, involve phone conversations between Biden — at the time Barack Obama’s vice-president — and then-Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko. Derkach has previously said he got the files from investigative journalists.
“Derkach and other Russian agents employ manipulation and deceit to attempt to influence elections in the US and elsewhere about the world,” Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement. “The US will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to counter these Russian disinformation campaigns and uphold the integrity of our election system.”
Though Trump regularly scoffs about “Russia-Russia-Russia”, dismissing evidence that Moscow sought to intervene in the 2016 presidential campaign to help him win, the president also often boasts that “nobody’s been tougher on Russia” than his administration. The action on Thursday may bolster that argument as the question of foreign interference again hangs over the election in November.
Democratic legislators said the sanctions action only underscored their criticism of Trump for failing to act forcefully against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
“This designation is long overdue and a pressing reminder that Putin and his cronies continue to try to interfere in our elections,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “The Trump administration has not done nearly enough to counter Putin’s sustained attack on our democracy, relying instead on these one-off sanctions, a whack-a-mole approach that does little to deter Putin and his oligarchs.”
Derkach and Giuliani did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The department said in its statement that Derkach “has been an active Russian agent for over a decade, maintaining close connections with the Russian intelligence services”.
On the tapes, Biden ...
Between May and July of 2020, Derkach released edited audio tapes and other unsupported information with the intent to discredit US officials, the department said in a statement on Thursday. Three other people associated with the Kremlin-linked Russian troll farm Internet Research Agency were also sanctioned.
Derkach met with Giuliani in Kiev, even as top Ukrainian officials avoided the US president’s unofficial emissary. Giuliani’s actions in the country later factored into Trump’s impeachment.
Leaked recordings allegedly featuring Democrat Joe Biden, released in a heavily edited version by the Ukrainian legislator, involve phone conversations between Biden — at the time Barack Obama’s vice-president — and then-Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko. Derkach has previously said he got the files from investigative journalists.
“Derkach and other Russian agents employ manipulation and deceit to attempt to influence elections in the US and elsewhere about the world,” Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement. “The US will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to counter these Russian disinformation campaigns and uphold the integrity of our election system.”
Though Trump regularly scoffs about “Russia-Russia-Russia”, dismissing evidence that Moscow sought to intervene in the 2016 presidential campaign to help him win, the president also often boasts that “nobody’s been tougher on Russia” than his administration. The action on Thursday may bolster that argument as the question of foreign interference again hangs over the election in November.
Democratic legislators said the sanctions action only underscored their criticism of Trump for failing to act forcefully against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
“This designation is long overdue and a pressing reminder that Putin and his cronies continue to try to interfere in our elections,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “The Trump administration has not done nearly enough to counter Putin’s sustained attack on our democracy, relying instead on these one-off sanctions, a whack-a-mole approach that does little to deter Putin and his oligarchs.”
Derkach and Giuliani did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The department said in its statement that Derkach “has been an active Russian agent for over a decade, maintaining close connections with the Russian intelligence services”.
On the tapes, Biden ...