WASHINGTON — The US Department of Justice has asked Russian broadcaster RT to register its American operations as a “foreign agent,” putting fresh pressure on a major media group that Washington regards as Moscow’s propaganda arm.

RT said late Monday that the company that supplies all the services for its RT America channel was told by the Department of Justice in a letter that it is obligated to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, an act aimed at lobbyists and lawyers representing foreign political interests.

RT has received the Justice Department letter, the broadcaster’s spokeswoman Anna Belkina confirmed Tuesday.

RT is “consulting with our lawyers and are reviewing the request,” she told AFP in an email.

On its website, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan condemned the move as part of a US “war” on Russian media.

“The war the US establishment wages with our journalists is dedicated to all the starry-eyed idealists who still believe in freedom of speech. Those who invented it, have buried it,” she said.

The Moscow-based broadcaster has become a focus of the investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

RT has been singled out for its links to US President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn, the former US defense intelligence chief, was paid tens of thousands of dollars in December 2015 to attend an RT anniversary gala where he sat with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In January, a US intelligence community report on Russian election interference labelled RT “the Kremlin’s principal international propaganda outlet.”

Originally written in 1938 to blunt Nazi propaganda on the eve of World War II, the Foreign Agents Registration Act has been used to shed light on who in Washington might be working for foreign governments.

FARA specifically exempts US and foreign news organizations, and the Justice Department focus on the company that supplies services for RT might be a way around that stipulation.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the issue.

The move comes as the US government fights what it alleges is a barrage of “fake” news from Russian media and online outlets aimed at interfering in US domestic politics.

According to reports, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating Sputnik, a part of Russian news group RIA that is now operating a radio station in Washington. </s> The stateside company that runs the U.S. version of Russia's state-owned news outlet RT must register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent.

The filing against the news agency is a strong signal that its content is considered propaganda from Russia. RT criticized the move as overreaching, according to the Hill, which cited an article from RT itself.

"The war the U.S. establishment wages with our journalists is dedicated to all the starry-eyed idealists who still believe in freedom of speech. Those who invented it, have buried it," RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said in the report, which was published Monday.

The news outlet alleges that the company that supplies services for RT America Channel in the States received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, stating it was obligated to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Passed in 1938, FARA requires those who represent the interest of foreign powers to disclose their relationship along with information about related activities and finances.

RT also claims it was being specifically targeted in a recent broadening of the act’s scope brought forth on Capitol Hill. Earlier this year, Reps. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Matthew Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a bill called the Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act, where they specifically named RT as a target.

“Foreign propaganda dressed up as a legitimate news outlet is still foreign propaganda,” Rep. Cicilline said in a June press release announcing the bipartisan bill. “In this era of social media and a 24/7 news cycle, the American people have a right to know when a hostile foreign government is sending propaganda right into their living room. This bill will help ensure that Vladimir Putin’s regime can’t spread fake news with such ease ever again.”

RT’s editor-in-chief condemned the proposed legislation, which has yet to be voted upon in Washington.

“I wonder how U.S. media outlets, which have no problems while working in Moscow, and that are not required to register as foreign agents, will treat this initiative,” Simonyan said.

RT America was first singled out in January, in a report from inside the U.S. intelligence community about the potential impact that Russia had on the 2016 presidential elections, the Hill reported.

The report referred to RT America as a “state-run propaganda machine” that “has positioned itself as a domestic U.S channel and has deliberately sought to obscure any legal ties to the Russian Government.”

Simonyan publicly balked at the report when it was released.

“The word 'propaganda' has a very negative connotation, but indeed, there is not a single international foreign TV channel that is doing something other than promotion of the values of the country that it is broadcasting from," she said, according to a Business Insider article in from January.

“When Russia is at war, we are, of course, on Russia's side.”

The report also alleges that RT contracted with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

"Russian media subsequently announced that RT had become 'the only Russian media company' to partner with WikiLeaks and had received access to 'new leaks of secret information.' RT routinely gives Assange sympathetic coverage and provides him a platform to denounce the United States," the report said.

Perry Chiaramonte is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @perrych </s> The company that runs the U.S. version of RT, the Russian state-owned outlet originally known as Russia Today, must register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent, signaling that all of their content would be labeled as propaganda from Moscow.

In a report Monday, RT did not name the company that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has compelled to file paperwork under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, but blasted the edict as overreaching.

"The war the US establishment wages with our journalists is dedicated to all the starry-eyed idealists who still believe in freedom of speech. Those who invented it, have buried it,” Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor-in-chief, said about the registration.

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Media organizations have been exempted from the law, which is wide-ranging in its disclosure requirements and generally applies to political consultants and those working in lobbying or public relations.

It would be a felony if RT is found to have willfully failed to register as a foreign agent, however.

The registration would not stop the organization from operating, but requires regularly submitted paperwork that lists its sources of foreign government-tied revenue and the contacts it makes in the United States, and it would require any reporting to be labeled as being influenced or financed by the Russian government.

In January, RT America was singled out in a report from the U.S. intelligence community about the potential impact that Russia had on the 2016 presidential elections.

The report from the U.S. intelligence community called the outlet a “state-run propaganda machine” that “has positioned itself as a domestic U.S channel and has deliberately sought to obscure any legal ties to the Russian Government.”

RT has also contracted with Julian Assange, who runs WikiLeaks and is suspected of leaking internal emails from the Democratic National Committee. The intelligence report said that some employed by RT “actively collaborated with WikiLeaks” during the presidential election.

“The word 'propaganda' has a very negative connotation, but indeed, there is not a single international foreign TV channel that is doing something other than promotion of the values of the country that it is broadcasting from," Simonyan said, according to an article in Business Insider from January. “When Russia is at war, we are, of course, on Russia's side.”

RT's registration could have wide-ranging implications for similar news organizations around the world. For example, Russia could retaliate and crack down on Voice of America, a U.S. government-funded media network that operates internationally.

Sputnik, another English-language Russian government-funded news outlet, is also in the crosshairs of the Justice Department. The U.S. intelligence report describes both RT and Sputnik as conducting an “influence campaign” on behalf of the Kremlin that sought to bolster support for then-GOP candidate Donald Trump Donald John TrumpTrump awards Medal of Valor, civilian honors to responders in Dayton and El Paso shootings Texas Democrats unveil 'path to victory' plan for 2020 The Hill's 12:30 Report: Congress returns with gun violence, funding atop agenda MORE and sow opposition for the Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWarren endorses Texas Democrat Cuellar's primary challenger Ten notable Democrats who do not favor impeachment Krystal Ball: Warren's Hillary connections revealed?; Saagar Enjeti: End the wars MORE.

On Monday, Yahoo News reported that former Sputnik reporter Andrew Feinberg had a lengthy interview with the Justice Department office that handles Foreign Agents Registration Act issues.

Feinberg, who worked at The Hill in 2012, provided law enforcement with a thumb drive of thousands of internal emails and documents he had downloaded from his work computer before he was fired from his reporting job there.

Justice Department officials wanted to know about Sputnik’s “internal structure, editorial processes and funding,” he told Yahoo News.

The Foreign Agents Registration Act is a World War II-era law, enacted to thwart Nazi propaganda from coming into the United States to sway American public sentiment and U.S. policy.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working to update the law and make it much stricter, with several bills in the works.

One, sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia (Jeanne) Jeanne ShaheenTrump to hold campaign rally in New Mexico NH Democrats attack Lewandowski's lobbying ties amid Senate speculation Lewandowski predicts Trump will win by wider electoral margin in 2020 MORE (D-N.H.) and Todd Young Todd Christopher YoungCongress set for chaotic fall sprint Overnight Defense: Senate fails to override Trump veto on Saudi arms sales | Two US troops killed in Afghanistan | Senators tee up nominations, budget deal ahead of recess Senate fails to override Trump veto on Saudi arms sale MORE (R-Ind.), would increase enforcement capabilities for the office that oversees the act, located within DOJ’s National Security Division. The House has companion legislation.

Shaheen on Monday lauded the Justice Department’s efforts to probe into Sputnik’s internal structure.

“I’m very encouraged that the FBI is investigating the Sputnik news agency, which is funded by the Russian government. We can’t allow foreign agents, particularly those working on behalf of our adversaries, to skirt our laws,” Shaheen said in a statement. “Every new revelation about Russia's use of propaganda to influence the 2016 election further highlights the need for the federal government to bolster its enforcement of FARA.” </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The letter was received by the company against the background of discussions on a bill submitted to the House of Representatives of the US Congress to amend requirements for registration of foreign agents under the FARA. The project involves the allocation of additional powers to the US Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, to identify and prosecute organizations that "illegally" try to influence the political processes in the United States.

"The company that supplies all services for RT America channel, including TV production and operations, in the US, has received a letter from the US Department of Justice, claiming that the company is obligated to register under FARA due to the work it does for RT," the press service said.

The bill was submitted in June to the House of Representatives of the US Congress to amend requirements for registration of foreign agents under the FARA. The project involves the allocation of additional powers to the US Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, to identify and prosecute organizations that "illegally" try to influence the political processes in the United States. </s> The company that supplies all services for RT America channel, including TV production and operations, in the US, has received a letter from the US Department of Justice, claiming that the company is obligated to register under FARA due to the work it does for RT.

Adopted in 1938 to counter pro-Nazi agitation on US soil, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, exists so that “the people of the United States are informed of the source of information (propaganda) and the identity of persons attempting to influence US public opinion, policy, and laws.”

There are 401 entities in the active FARA register and include tourist boards and lobbyists, but no media outlets, which have traditionally been exempt from the legislation.

Earlier this year, a Democratic Senator and two Congressmen from both parties introduced a bill called the Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act, which would broaden the scope of FARA. They specifically named RT as a target of the law, which has not gone to a vote in either chamber.

RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan has previously commented on attempts to slap RT with the ‘foreign agent’ label.

“I wonder how US media outlets, which have no problems while working in Moscow, and that are not required to register as foreign agents, will treat this initiative,” Simonyan said last week. </s> MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The letter was received by the company against the background of discussions on a bill submitted to the House of Representatives of the US Congress to amend requirements for registration of foreign agents under the FARA. The project involves the allocation of additional powers to the US Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, to identify and prosecute organizations that “illegally” try to influence the political processes in the United States.

“The company that supplies all services for RT America channel, including TV production and operations, in the US, has received a letter from the US Department of Justice, claiming that the company is obligated to register under FARA due to the work it does for RT,” the press service said.

The news comes after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) questioned former Sputnik employee Andrew Feinberg as part of the investigation of reports that the agency allegedly acted as a Russian propaganda agency in violation of the US Foreign Agents Act (FARA). Commenting on the news, Sputnik and RT’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said that “freedom of speech is turning in its grave.”

The bill was submitted in June to the House of Representatives of the US Congress to amend requirements for registration of foreign agents under the FARA. The project involves the allocation of additional powers to the US Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, to identify and prosecute organizations that “illegally” try to influence the political processes in the United States. </s> Britain's media watchdog has started probing whether Russian news channel RT broke impartiality rules in its programs after a former Russian double agent and his daughter were poisoned in the English city of Salisbury last month.

Media regulator Ofcom warned on April 18 that TV Novosti, the company which produces RT, could lose its British broadcasting rights if it failed its "fit-and-proper" test.

"Until recently, TV Novosti's overall compliance record has not been materially out of line with other broadcasters," Ofcom said in a statement on April 18.

"However, since the events in Salisbury, we have observed a significant increase in the number of programs on the RT service that warrant investigation as potential breaches of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.

"Ofcom has today opened seven new investigations into the due impartiality of news and current affairs programs on the RT news channel," the regulator said.

 

 Britain blames Russia for the March 4 poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal with a nerve agent -- a charge that Moscow denies.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has warned that British media outlets will be forced to close Russian operations if Britain expels RT, which used to be known as Russia Today.

Reuters quoted a spokeswoman for state-supported RT as saying that the channel's "editorial approach has not changed since the events in Salisbury, and we will be directly addressing this matter with the regulator."

"We are pleased to see that Ofcom has acknowledged RT’s compliance record has been in line with other broadcasters," Anna Belkina said in an e-mail, according to Reuters.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP </s> LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s media regulator opened seven investigations into Russian news channel RT, saying it had found an increase in programmes which may have breached impartiality rules since a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy last month.

Vehicles of Russian state-controlled broadcaster Russia Today (RT) are seen at Red Square in central Moscow, Russia March 18, 2018. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo

The poisoning, which Britain blamed on Russia, prompted the biggest Western expulsions of diplomats since the height of the Cold War. Russia has denied any involvement and suggested Britain carried out the attack to stoke anti-Russian hysteria.

Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain’s foreign spy service, was found slumped unconscious on a bench in the city of Salisbury along with his daughter Yulia on March 4.

After British Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russia of being behind the poisoning, Britain’s media regulator Ofcom warned that RT producer TV Novosti could lose its right to broadcast in Britain if it failed its “fit and proper” test.

“Since the events in Salisbury, we have observed a significant increase in the number of programmes on the RT service that warrant investigation as potential breaches of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code,” Ofcom said.

Russia has warned that every British media outlet, such as the British Broadcasting Corporation, will be kicked out if Britain shuts down RT, a channel launched in 2005 and financed by the Russian state to project what it says is a Russian viewpoint on major global events.

“Clouds are gathering over the BBC,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Interfax news agency after the Ofcom investigations were announced. A spokesman for the BBC declined to comment.

Ofcom is investigating seven RT programmes for breaching impartiality on both the Skripal affair and events in Syria.

But Ofcom, which is independent of the government, also said there was a high threshold for finding that a broadcaster was not fit to hold a licence. Previously, it has revoked licences for hardcore pornography and material that could incite terrorist crimes.

“Until recently, TV Novosti’s overall compliance record has not been materially out of line with other broadcasters,” Ofcom said.

Amid claim and counter-claim over the first known offensive use of such a nerve agent on European soil since World War Two, both sides have accused media organisations in each country of spreading government lies about the affair.

“Our editorial approach has not changed since the events in Salisbury, and we will be directly addressing this matter with the regulator,” Anna Belkina, a spokeswoman for RT, said by email.

“We are pleased to see that Ofcom has acknowledged RT’s compliance record has been in line with other broadcasters – putting to bed any of the salacious political statements and challenges made against our channel,” Belkina said.

Russian officials say RT is a way for Moscow to compete with the dominance of global media companies based in the United States and Britain, which they say offer a particular view of the world.

FILE PHOTO: The Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko can be seen in a television camera viewfinder as he addresses the media at a news conference in the official Russian Ambassador's residence in central London, Britain, April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo

Critics say RT, which broadcasts news in English, Arabic and Spanish, is the propaganda arm of the Russian state whose aim is to undermine confidence in Western institutions.

The Russian embassy in London issued a statement later on Wednesday, denouncing he Ofcom probe.

“This targeted scrutiny, directed at one particular news organization and regarding one particular issue, amounts to pressure against this specific broadcaster,” it said. “This increased scrutiny is sure to affect press freedom in Britain, which causes major concern.” </s> The media watchdog has launched a wave of investigations into Russian TV channel RT following the Salisbury attack.

Ofcom announced it was launching seven separate probes today in the wake of the nerve agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The regulator said in a statement: "Since the events in Salisbury, we have observed a significant increase in the number of programmes on the RT service that we consider warrant investigation as potential breaches of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.

"In relation to our fit and proper duty, we will consider all relevant new evidence, including the outcome of these investigations and the future conduct of the licensee."

Kremlin-backed RT was formerly known as Russia Today and exists to broadcast news in Europe with a "Russian perspective".

Ofcom says RT is "controlled" by the Kremlin.

There was a huge row following the attack over Labour MPs' decision to appear on RT.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said he would no longer appear on the station and there would be a discussion on whether others in the party should follow suit.

"I think that is right now and that is what I will be doing. What we are seeing from Russia Today sometimes goes beyond objective journalism from what I've seen," he said.

"I have been looking overnight at some of what's happening in terms of the change in coverage on Russian television in particular.

"And I think we have to step back now."

But Jeremy Corbyn ally and Labour MP Chris Williamson has continued to appear on the station, using an interview to say Tories were using Salisbury as a "smokescreen".

He also went on RT in the wake of the more recent chemical attack on the town of Douma in Syria.

The US, UK and France launched airstrikes after blaming the attack on the town of Douma on President Assad and his Russian backers.

But appearing on RT, Mr Williamson claimed that was based on "social media reports and hearsay".

Ofcom's seven investigations are into the programmes Sputnik (2), Crosstalk (2), news (2) and Worlds Apart with Oksana Boyko (1).

The programmes were all aired between March 17 and April 16.

In its report today Ofcom says TV Novosti, which holds the licence to broadcast RT in the UK, is "is financed by the Russian Federation."

Ofcom adds: "We consider that TV Novosti is therefore ultimately controlled by the Russian Federation."
The United States Department of Justice has requested Moscow-based Russian media channel RT America to register as a foreign lobbying firm in the United States.