Former Trump adviser charged as DOJ targets Russian influence schemes; Trump's a trader to our democracy involved with Putin's plan to help this criminal felon lying scumbag stinky butt trader land in our White House; but never again, not going back

For those who still, even now, insist that the Russia scandal has been discredited, this hasn’t been a great week. In fact, as NBC News reported, the broader story took an important turn when the Justice Department indicted a contributor to a Russian state-run TV channel, charging him and his wife with violating U.S. sanctions and money laundering.

The indictment, filed and unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accuses Dmitri Simes, 76, and his wife, Anastasia Simes, 55, of participating in a scheme to violate U.S. sanctions for the benefit of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster and to launder money obtained through that scheme.

If Simes’ name sounds at all familiar, it’s not your imagination: The dual U.S.-Russian citizen worked as an advisor to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and as NBC News’ report added, Simes’ name also “appeared numerous times in the report compiled by special counsel Robert Mueller on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.”.....

For all the chatter in far-right circles about the Russia scandal being a “hoax,” a Washington Post analysis explained, the new indictment "reinforces that it wasn’t. Russia began trying to influence American politics a decade ago, ultimately finding a sympathetic ally in Trump. Now, instead of trying to make fake personalities who can elevate contentious issues to Russia’s benefit, there’s a stable of Trump-allied voices who already are.”

This was published before the Justice Department charged a former Trump advisor with allegedly participating in a scheme to violate U.S. sanctions for the benefit of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster.