Let’s Be Clear: Putin Is Again Trying to Put Trump in the White House

I hate saying, “I told you so.” That is one of the biggest lies. I, for one, enjoying saying it. That is, on the right occasions. And I’d like to point out that in recent months I have repeatedly warned that Russian tyrant and war criminal Vladmir Putin intended to mess with the US election to help Donald Trump once again. (See here, here, and here.) This week, in a pair of actions, the Justice Department outlined elaborate schemes mounted by covert Moscow operators to influence the 2024 campaign. But in each instance, the feds declined to explicitly state the obvious: The Kremlin efforts have been designed and mounted to aid Trump’s bid to regain power.

In one case, the Justice Department seized 32 internet domains used in a Russian operation called “Doppelganger” to spread disinformation in the United States. These sites mimicked legitimate American news sites. (One example: washingtonpost.pm—as opposed to washingtonpost.com.) The Russians, the DOJ noted, “used these domains, among others, to covertly spread Russian government propaganda with the aim of reducing international support for Ukraine, bolstering pro-Russian policies and interests, and influencing voters in U.S. and foreign elections.” The sites often posted legitimate stories but would include a false piece that would aim to undermine US support of Ukraine. (One fake Washington Post article claimed the paper had obtained secret video showing that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was scheming with Washington regarding dangerous biolabs.)

In a released statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said of this covert project: “As alleged in our court filings, President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle...directed Russian public relations companies to promote disinformation and state-sponsored narratives as part of a campaign to influence the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. An internal planning document created by the Kremlin states that a goal of the campaign is to secure Russia’s preferred outcome in the election.” But Garland did not specify Moscow’s preference.

In the other action, the Justice Department indicted two employees of RT, the Russian state-controlled media operation, for allegedly secretly funneling $10 million to an American right-wing media outfit. The goal, as Garland put it, was to “create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.” The indictment did not name the firm. But as soon as the indictment was released on Wednesday, I and other journalists quickly found one big fat clue: The document noted that the unnamed media outlet identified itself as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.” That’s how Tenet Media, an operation created last year featuring the work of right-wing and libertarian firebrands such as Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson, describes itself. It was easy to Google the phrase and discover that only Tenet popped up. (Meanwhile, the Justice Department also indicted Dimitri Simes, a Soviet-born American citizen, longtime foreign policy think-tanker, and Trump campaign adviser in 2016, for making more than $1 million by working for a sanctioned Russian television channel.)

The RT-Tenet story was quite a bombshell: A clutch of far-right and generally pro-Trump commentators influential on social media, particularly among younger people, has allegedly been covertly subsidized by Moscow. One of the founders of the company, Lauren Chen, a right-wing influencer, has been associated with Turning Point USA, the rabidly pro-Trump outfit run by Charlie Kirk, and with Blaze Media, the outlet founded by conservative wild man and conspiracy theorist Glenn Beck. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco charactered this clandestine operation as an attempt “to pump pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation across social media to U.S. audiences” and “to illegally manipulate American public opinion by sowing discord and division.” The statement released by the Justice Department to announce this indictment did not mention the 2024 election.

The Justice Department was avoiding saying that these covert Russian ops were attempting to get Trump back in the White House. But it’s not hard to add two and two here. If you'd looked at the YouTube channel for Tenet Media, you would have found one video after another bashing Kamala Harris. While months ago, Tenet was posting all sorts of provocative right-wing material on the US-Mexico border, Ukraine, Black history month, culture wars, and other hot-button issues, while denigrating President Joe Biden—Pool has decried Ukraine as the United States’ greatest enemy and exclaimed, “We should apologize to Russia!”—it has in recent weeks become largely focused on assailing Harris.

Moreover, the affidavit in support of the seizure of those 32 domains includes as attachments internal documents from the Doppelganger operation that state the program's intent. Where an American presidential candidate or political party was mentioned, the Justice Department redacted their identities and referred to them as “Candidate A” or “Candidate B” and “Political Party A” and “Political Party B.” But one need not be Sherlock Holmes to suss out that “A” represents Trump and the Republicans and “B,” Biden and the Democrats. Thus, the meaning is clear when one of these quasi-redacted documents states, “It makes sense for Russia to put a maximum effort to ensure that [Political Party A] point of view (first and foremost, the opinion of Candidate A supporters) wins over the US public opinion.” (Bold in the original). This Russian document cites the operation’s goal as to “secure victory” for the GOP candidate. It lists as targets swing state voters, American Jews, Latinos, and the “community of American gamers, users of Reddit and [messaging] boards, such as 4chan (the ‘backbone’ of the right-wing trends in the US segment of the Internet).”

The Doppelganger project, according to these documents, has been bent on exploiting all the various social media platforms and amplifying media persons on YouTube and elsewhere to exacerbate political conflict within the United States and spread an assortment of talking points: The United States is a country in decline, US support of Ukraine is bankrupting the United States, the Democrats are corrupt and dishonest losers. A list of “campaign topics” in one planning document included “record inflation…risk of job loss for white Americans, privileges for people of color, perverts, and disabled…threat of crime coming from people of color and immigrants.” Memes, social media posts, comments on social networks and in group chats, and video content (“including news stories in the Fox News style”) promoting all of this were to be directed at Republican voters, Trump supporters, “supporters of traditional family values,” and “White Americans representing the lower-middle and middle class.” The alleged operation to finance Tenet Media would be in sync with these overarching aims.

The affidavit and the indictment are chock-full of fascinating details illuminating the ins and outs of this clandestine Russian campaign. Earlier this year, according to the indictment, the Russians allegedly running the Tenet Media operation succeeded in encouraging Tenet to promote video of Tucker Carlson gushing about a Moscow supermarket during a visit to Russia to interview Putin—a visit for which Carlson was rightfully and mightily mocked. (Two years ago, I revealed Kremlin memos showing that Putin’s regime pressured Russian media outlets to feature Carlson in their propaganda reports on the war in Ukraine.) One Russian document attached to the affidavit spells out a social media plan to make Mexico seem like a threat to the United States to help Trump’s candidacy.

As they have done for eight years, Trumpers rushed to declare all of this no big deal and nothing but a Biden administration/Deep State effort to smother the speech of right-wingers. David Sacks, the Silicon Valley bigwig who’s raising money for Trump, huffed, “Even by the standards of Russia, Russia, Russia hoaxes, the Tenet Media/Lauren Chen case makes no sense…As far as Red Scares go, this one seems pretty lame and people are seeing through it. Hopefully this means we’re at the end of Russiagate hoaxes.”

On Fox, host Laura Ingraham, not surprisingly, dismissed the seriousness of the alleged Russian intervention: “The DOJ seems to be back to Russia, Russia, Russia because they announced indictments against Russians for alleged election interference…Are they laying the groundwork for more censorship?” Her guest, failed GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, embraced the Russia denialism that has infected the Republican Party for eight years: “The reality is that they already did this in 2016. So they have a historical practice. When they are afraid of Donald Trump coming back to office, they invent every figment of imagination of Russia or somebody else putting him there without actually paying attention to the threats coming from our administrative state to free and fair elections in the United States.”

On Friday, Trump referred to the indictment and the seizures of the domains as a “scam.”

For their part, Tim Pool and Benny Johnson maintained they were unaware they were receiving Moscow gold and depicted themselves as victims. They did not publicly reflect on why the Kremlin wanted to prop up them and their comrades with millions of dollars.

This is the third American presidential election in a row in which Putin has waged covert information warfare against the United States to help Trump. In 2016, he ordered a hack-and-leak operation and a clandestine social media campaign to hinder Hillary Clinton and boost Trump. Four years later, Ukraine officials tied to Russian intelligence spread disinformation designed to smear Joe Biden. He’s one for two and back for the rubber match. With Trump and his political allies either dubious about or opposed to US assistance to Ukraine, Putin has more motivation than ever to try to aid his longtime admirer.

In its public statements, the Justice Department avoided a simple declaration: Russia is secretly screwing with the American information ecosystem to assist Trump. Garland wants to keep these cases from appearing political. But they are deeply political. Russia is conniving to put a lying, misogynistic, chaotic, narcissistic, right-wing authoritarian into the White House—and Trump World is once again denying this reality and, thus, abetting a foreign adversary’s attack on the United States. There should be immediate congressional investigations and hearings. This ought to be front-page news for weeks and fundamentally shape the final leg of the campaign. But if the past is any guide, it won’t. That means Putin has a shot at winning. Even exposure of his plot by the Justice Department might not be enough to thwart it. If Moscow succeeds, it will be not because of any Russian brilliance but due to American decline and weakness.

Got anything to say about this item—or anything else? Email me at ourland@motherjones.com.

Please, the judges beseech, no more Donald Trump remarks—at least until next week. I understand, but it is the home stretch of the 2024 campaign, and he can’t seem to not top all the other ongoing inanity. At one rally, he even tried to turn his incoherence into an asset:

You know, I do the weave. You know what the weave is? I’ll talk about, like nine different things, and it will all come back brilliantly together. And friends of mine that are, like, English professors, they say it's the most brilliant thing I've ever seen. But the fake new, you know what they say? He rambled.

How many English professor friends do you think Trump has? It still amazes me people fall for this guff.

Then there was the flood of incoherence when Trump addressed the Economic Club of New York. I couldn’t bear to transcribe it. You’ll just have to watch (though someone on X did put up a transcript).

In response to the tragic Georgia school shooting, there was the usual spate of thoughts-and-prayer BS from Trump and others. Former Vice President Mike Pence led the way:

.@KarenPence and I are praying for the families at Apalachee High School after today’s tragic shooting. The Bible says “the Lord is close to the brokenhearted” and that will be our prayer. God Bless those lost and their families during this truly terrible time.

Yet another reminder the GOP loves its guns more than our children.

Trump cultists keep insisting the assassination attempt on Dear Leader was no lone-gunman operation. Longtime conspiracy theorist and Trump adviser Roger Stone said that he thinks CNN and other media outlets knew the shooting was going to happen before it did.

Conservative commentator and confirmed plagiarist Monica Crowley, who was a spokesperson for the Treasury Department during Trump’s presidency, contributed to this lunacy by telling Trump on her podcast, “The more we see what happened that day, the more suspicious it all looks. Does it look increasingly to you like this was a suspicious—maybe even inside job?”

There’s nothing to suggest it was an inside job. But Trump couldn’t say no to this bait. He replied, “Well, it’s strange.” Then he said it might be part of a conspiracy involving former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann and Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias. This was nonsense. But dangerous nonsense.

Back to God for our winner this week: MAGA pastor Eric Metaxas, a Trump stan who claimed Jesus stood with the Stop the Steal fraud (my word, not his) and who has written children’s books about Trump (Donald Builds the Wall), engaged in a frenzy of fearmongering, comparing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to—who else but—Hitler. He claimed their goal is to “shut down” Christianity:

Hitler wanted the church to continue to be asleep, and that’s what the devil wants, and that’s what the devil wants in America. And there are many pastors in America right now who pretend that they don’t need to be in this fight. They believe it doesn’t matter, everything’s fine, everything’s fine. The window is closing. And I promise you, if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are elected, they are going to come after pastors and people of faith like you have never seen. And I say this as a warning. You need to fast and pray for this election…and understand what is at stake, for there will come a time when you will not have a voice. You will be shut down. That is coming to America.

This guy has a syndicated radio show on the Salem Radio Network, and he once punched an anti-Trump protester in the head. For providing such a wonderful example of what Jesus wouldn’t do, Metaxas claims the prize.

The recent issue that reported on the GOP’s scare-’em disinformation campaign—what I called the Ministry of Fear—brought in some heart-wrenching tales. David Jahns emailed:

You wrote: "And anyone who falls for this obvious bunk has no one to blame but themselves.” Yes, but consider who they are targeting with these emails and texts. My dad turned 80 this year. He retired a decade ago, and lacking any passion projects or desire for service/volunteer opportunities, he fell into the Fox News wormhole—TV on all day long while he goes about his daily business of raking leaves, skimming the pool, etc. I last talked politics with him in the summer of 2016, when he kept insisting he was a “John Kasich guy,” hated Hillary (but loved Bill back in the day), and didn’t like Trump, but “ya know, maybe a business guy would be good for the country.” I never asked how he eventually voted, but I’m sure you and I both know how that went.

Fast forward to 2024. Dad is spending a lot of time at the computer. My stepmother notices strange activity in their bank accounts. They had always shared money and information, he wasn’t such a traditionalist that she was kept in the dark about family finances. Anyway, she looks into these transactions and discovers that he has been giving away his life savings to conservative MAGA candidates. She’s certainly no liberal but was horrified that he’s giving away his nest egg. She confronts him about it, and he’s completely delusional. He thinks that he’s been personally tasked with being some kind of American Super Agent to Make America Great Again. Mitch McConnell is personally asking for his help! Trump needs my name added to his supporters list! He’s confusing his career life (McConnell is his new boss) and mixing up details, but he’s got to SAVE AMERICA!!!  

After a visit to the doctor, yep, he’s got dementia. Probably made 100 times worse by the media diet and conspiracy theories he’s marinated in for years. So my older brother steps in and takes away his internet access and is currently in the process of trying to get refunds from WinRed for many thousands of dollars. We are all victims of this grift, especially their own so-called supporters.

Pamela Firebaugh wrote:

While driving around town, I listen to the two AM stations in Lincoln, Nebraska, just so I know what the Republican message is. Between segments talking about the coup that took place in the Democratic Party and the upcoming civil war when Trump wins and we don’t recognize the fair election, there are advertisements encouraging folks already primed with fear to buy guns, gold, and, best yet, a year’s supply of food that is mailed to your home in unmarked boxes so nobody knows you have food. One can also sign up for a patriot cell phone service and get financial assistance from a professional promising to have the same political beliefs as you. All to keep your family safe.

A woman named Sue in Florida shared this:

I, too, receive the terroristic texts from Trump. I don't know how I got on the lists, but they seemingly have an endless supply of phone numbers which I "delete" and then "block." Doesn't seem to work. These scare tactics are not new. During the second Obama term, I was in the grocery, and an older woman and I struck up a conversation. She warned me that ISIS would soon be invading Florida’s shores because of Obama. I knew she was crazy and quietly moved away. Now that same fear has invaded half the US population, perhaps 70 percent in Florida. 

John Beaulieu had a dark take:

Generally, I find much to admire about your reporting and analysis, but your most recent Our Land posting completely missed a crucial and rather obvious point. The apocalyptic messaging coming from the Trump party isn't just crazy/dumb/desperate campaign rhetoric. It's an essential component of their strategy to completely do away with our constitutional system. I'm surprised you didn't recognize the historical echoes: dire warnings of ruthless radicals bent on destroying the country from within, screamed round the clock to their tribe. They hate to have to do it, but given the viciousness and insanity of the enemy within, they have no choice. They'll have to destroy democracy in order to save it. Of course, they promise to hand power back to the People, as soon as the threat is finally eradicated. It'll just take a little while longer.

Craig Jones had a suggestion:

We need to include these words in the oath of office: “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

I’m not sure that would stop Trump.

Richard Dorsett had a grim view of the future of this newsletter:

You’re in a bit of trouble and your tenure will be short. The writing is fine but say something we don’t already know. Go to small town and talk to people. This race for the White House is too important and is very interesting. Go to Winona, Wisconsin, or Williston, North Dakota, and talk to people. That’s what I’m doing. I’m leaving on my own whistle stop tour of the West on the Amtrak Empire Builder. For $499, you could do the same. Five bucks a month? Price doesn’t matter. Say something interesting. Or else you will soon be sent packing.

Not interesting? That’s quite the insult. I suppose I will have to try harder. But my guess is if you made it this far into the newsletter, you found it interesting.

“Moxie, are you not interacting with your friend Ruby?”
“We’re jointly resting.”
“Looks like you’re ignoring her.”
“No. Just trying to help her wind down, maybe take a nap.”
“Then what?”
“I get up and play with her toys.”