The U.S. Department of Justice raided the founders of Tenet Media, a conservative media company, on Wednesday amid charges from the department that two Russian state media employees paid approximately $10 million to publish pro-Russia content.
Sources told The Post Millennial that law enforcement authorities seized the electronic devices of Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan, the owners of Tenet Media, around the same time the Biden-Harris administration announced the indictment against Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva on Wednesday.
“I don’t think the owners had any idea [about the investigation],” one source told The Post Millennial. “[The raid] just came out of nowhere.”
According to The Post Millennial, Donovan sent a message to Tenet Media staff members on Thursday, stating, “As most of you may know by now, there is a federal investigation surrounding Tenet at the moment. There have been no indictments against us or the company. We have hired legal counsel and are working through the legal issues. We hope to provide more clarity soon. However, it is clear that given the nature of the investigation, we have no choice but to stop all work on Tenet. I do not foresee it coming back.”
According to the Justice Department’s Wednesday indictment, Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva allegedly laundered roughly $10 million to Tenet Media to advance “discord and division” in the United States on behalf of Russia. The indictment also accuses the two Russian nationals of conspiring to “violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.”
READ MORE: FBI raids home of NYC police commissioner, 3 other top aides
The Justice Department’s indictment claims that during the alleged Russian plot, Tenet Media posted roughly 2,000 videos that generated over 16 million views on YouTube.
The Post Millennial reported that Tenet Media’s six major media influencers, which include Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, Matt Christiansen, Tayler Hansen, and Lauren Southern, were not charged in Wednesday’s indictment. The outlet noted that most of Tenet Media’s content creators have released statements regarding their innocence and alleged victimization in the plot by the two Russian nationals.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Johnson wrote, “A year ago, a media startup pitched my company to provide content as an independent contractor. Our lawyers negotiated a standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated. We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme. My lawyers will handle anyone who states or suggests otherwise.”
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told Fox News he was “skeptical” of the Justice Department’s claims regarding Russian interference. “We’ve seen this before. In 2016, the same people pushed the Russia hoax and we now know it was totally bogus. Now, it may be true this time, but I am extremely skeptical,” he said.
