The Justice Department has charged Dimitri Simes, 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. Simes and his wife, Anastasia Simes, 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. The couple, who have a home in Huntly, Virginia, are believed to be in Russia at this time.
U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves stated that the defendants’ alleged violations of sanctions put in place in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine harm national security interests. Simes, 76, should have been uniquely positioned to appreciate the harm caused by such violations, given his experience in national affairs gained after fleeing the Soviet Union and becoming a U.S. citizen. These charges come at a time of renewed concern about Russian efforts to interfere with the upcoming U.S. election through online disinformation and propaganda, with two Russian media employees already facing charges related to covert funding for pro-Russian content.
Dimitri Simes and the Washington think tank he led, the Center for the National Interest, were key figures in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible ties to the Trump campaign. Simes, who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s, had interactions with various Trump campaign officials, including Jared Kushner, according to the Mueller report. The think tank helped arrange a foreign policy speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington where Simes introduced Trump, and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak was present. Despite these connections, Simes was never charged with any crime related to the investigation.
Anastasia Simes, 55, was also charged with receiving funds from sanctioned Russian businessman Alexander Udodov, who is linked to the Russian government and has been investigated for money laundering. Udodov, who was sanctioned last year, has business dealings with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, his former brother-in-law. It is unknown if either defendant has legal representation to make statements on their behalf. The New York Times interviewed Dimitri Simes before the charges were announced, where he defended his work on Russian television, stating that he believed as long as he presented his opinions as such, he could not be prosecuted by the Biden administration.
The Trump campaign did not immediately comment on the charges against Simes. Simes has appeared regularly on Channel One, a sanctioned Russian state television network, and has been involved in various high-profile events related to the Trump campaign. While Simes defended himself in a Washington Post interview after the Mueller report’s release, stating that he found no evidence of questionable activity on his or the Center for the National Interest’s part, the recent indictments suggest otherwise. The ongoing concern about Russian interference in U.S. elections, as evidenced by recent charges against individuals linked to Russian media organizations, highlights the importance of enforcing sanctions and holding individuals accountable for violating them.
