Former 2016 Trump campaign adviser is charged over his work for sanctioned Russian TV

https://apnews.com/article/trump-simes-russia-election-fbi-f0b0fe681c821f735c4e951736f041c8

By ERIC TUCKER and DAVID KLEPPER
Updated 8:18 PM EDT, September 5, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has charged a Russian-born U.S. citizen and former adviser to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign with working for a sanctioned Russian state television network and laundering the proceeds.

Indictments announced Thursday allege that Dimitri Simes and his wife received over $1 million dollars and a personal car and driver in exchange for work they did for Russia’s Channel One since June 2022. The network was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Simes, 76, and his wife, Anastasia Simes, have a home in Huntly, Virginia, and are believed to be in Russia.

“Simes and the Washington think tank he led, the Center for the National Interest, figured prominently in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential ties to the Trump campaign.

The report chronicles interactions that the Soviet-born Simes, who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s, had with assorted figures in Trump’s orbit, including Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner..”