Bombshell from the Justice Department: MAGA Media Group is supported by Russian money

A Tennessee-based media company whose members include prominent MAGA figures has been accused of accepting millions of dollars from two employees of the Russian state-backed media company Russia Today (RT) to influence American viewers.

According to U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the Russian operatives hatched a $10 million plan “to create and distribute content to a U.S. audience that contained hidden messages from the Russian government.”

Although it is described as “US Company 1” in an indictment released Wednesday, evidence suggests it is Tenet Media, which has been named as the company in question in various reports.

The indictment describes Company-1's website as a “network of heterodox commentators focusing on Western political and cultural issues” and employs six commentators as “talents.”

The far-right YouTube commentators on Tenet Media's list include Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, Taylor Hansen, Lauren Southern and Matt Christiansen. The indictment does not name the internet personalities, identifying them only as “Commentator-1” and “Commentator-2.”

The Daily Beast reached out to Pool, Rubin and Tenet for comment but did not receive an immediate response. However, Johnson said in a statement on X: “We are troubled by the allegations in today's indictment, which make clear that I and other influencers were victims of this alleged scheme.”

Pool, in his own statement on Xwrote: “If these allegations prove to be true, I and the other personalities and commentators have been deceived and are victims. I cannot speak for others in the company about what they do or what instructions they receive.”

He added: “Putin is a bastard, Russia sucks.”

The company has released hundreds of videos through its Rumble page, all of which have a conservative bent, with some of them, such as “What Will the Future Look Like Under Trump? | Benny Johnson & Lara Trump,” actively supporting former President Donald Trump.

Trump appeared alongside Pool at Pool's IRL Podcast– and he even visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in May.

The Justice Department's investigation into RT employees, identified as Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, 31, and Elena Afanasayev, 27, alleges that the two “used nearly $10 million to secretly fund and run a Tennessee-based online content creation company (US Company-1). In return, US Company-1 posted English-language videos on multiple social media channels, including TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube. Since its public launch in or around November 2023, US Company-1 has posted nearly 2,000 videos that have garnered more than 16 million views on YouTube alone.”

The indictment states that “Founder I and Founder II worked together to conceal the true source of funding for U.S. Company I,” but the commenters themselves were allegedly tricked. Founder I and Founder II “also worked together to deceive two U.S. online commenters who have 2.4 million and 1.3 million YouTube subscribers, respectively.” Dave Rubins The Rubin Report has 2.4 million YouTube subscribers, while Tim Pool's YouTube page has 1.37 million.

Tenet Media was founded by Liam Donovan and his wife, conservative influencer Lauren Chen. The indictment shows that “Founder I and Founder 2” continued to push for the content to be published despite some employees' doubts about the material.

“On or about February 15, 2024, AFANASYEVA (as “Helena Shudra”) showed U.S. Company I a video of a well-known U.S. political commentator visiting a grocery store in Russia,” the indictment states, specifically referring to Tucker Carlson's visit to the country without naming him directly.

“It just feels like blatant advertising,” a producer wrote in the private Discord message to Founder 2 regarding the video. Founder 2 responded that Founder I “thinks we should release it.” The producer replied, “Okay, I'll release it tomorrow.”

Russia Today responded to the allegations to Reuters by claiming: “Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and RT's interference in the US elections.”

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