NEW: @USTreasury sanction 4 #Russia|n-linked actors for #Election2020 meddling
- pro-Russian #Ukrainian MP Andrii Derkach
- Russian nationals & Internet Research Agency trolls Artem Lifshits, Anton Andreyev & Darya Aslanova
"Andrii Derkach & other #Russia|n agents employ manipulation & deceit to attempt to influence elections in the #UnitedStates & elsewhere around the world" per @USTreasury Sec Steven Mnuchin in statement
Per @USTreasury, Derkach "waged a covert influence campaign centered on cultivating false & unsubstantiated narratives concerning US officials in the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election, spurring corruption investigations in both Ukraine and the United States"
Those corruption investigations were "designed to culminate prior to election day" per @USTreasury
#Derkach's name should be familiar - National Counterintelligence and Security Center Dir William Evanina singled him out in @ODNIgov's August 7 warning about #Election2020 meddling for "spreading claims about corruption...to undermine former Vice President Biden’s candidacy"
Of possible interest, @USTreasury & @ODNIgov going w/slightly different spellings of #Derkach's first name
Treasury spelling it "Andrii" while @ODNIgov went w/"Andriy"
Per @USTreasury, #Derkach was sanctioned under Executive Order 13848
@POTUS signed EO 13848 in September 2018-at the time it was criticized by now Senate Intelligence Committee acting chairman @marcorubio & Vice Chair @MarkWarner for not going far enough
voanews.com/usa/us-politic…
EO 13848 was also used to sanction #Russia|n oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin in September 2019 for meddling in #Election2018
Sec Mnuchin called Prigozhin "the Russian financier behind the Internet Research Agency & its attempts to subvert American democratic processes"
More on those sanctions here: home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…
Back in February of this year, Senate Democrats urged @POTUS, @SecPompeo & @USTreasury Sec Mnuchin to impose more sanctions vs #Russia for #election meddling
.@StateDept @SecPompeo says today's sanctions vs #Derkach & #Russia-linked #IRA actors "sends a clear signal: the United States will not hesitate to use all tools of national power to respond to foreign actors that seek to interfere in or otherwise influence our elections..."
#Derkach "maintains close ties to Russian intelligence & sought to influence the views of American voters through a Russian-directed covert influence campaign centered on manipulating the American political process to advance #Russia’s malign interests in #Ukraine" per @SecPompeo
There's also been reporting tying him to the Johnson and Grassley led investigation into Hunter Biden
politico.com/news/2020/08/0…
Also in communication with #Derkach - Donald Trump's personal lawyer, @RudyGiuliani
reuters.com/article/us-usa…
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