September 16, 2017

FBI investigating Russian news agency Sputnik

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/9/11/1697742/-FBI-investigating-Russian-news-agency-Sputnik
"The probe into Russia's effort to infiltrate and influence the U.S. political system has deepened, Yahoo News reports with the FBI now investigating the Russian news agency Sputnik, to determine if it is "acting as an undeclared propaganda arm of the Kremlin in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)." As part of the probe, Yahoo News has learned, the bureau has obtained a thumb drive containing thousands of internal Sputnik emails and documents — material that could potentially help prosecutors build a case that the news agency played a role in the Russian government “influence campaign” that was waged during last year’s presidential election and, in the view of U.S. intelligence officials, is still ongoing. The emails were turned over by Andrew Feinberg, the news agency’s former White House correspondent, who had downloaded the material onto his laptop before he was fired in May. He confirmed to Yahoo News that he was questioned for more than two hours on Sept. 1 by an FBI agent and a Justice Department national security lawyer at the bureau’s Washington field office."