Russian state media this week asked for a welcoming hand to be extended to a group of right-wing media influencers who were caught up as unwitting dupes in an alleged illegal Russian influence scheme this week.
As reported by Julia Davis at The Daily Beast, Russian state TV host Vladimir Solovyov appeared "notably shaken" by the DOJ indictment of two Russian operatives for funneling money to right-wing media companies in the United States in exchange for airing pro-Kremlin propaganda.
In particular, Solovyov feared that former Fox News star Tucker Carlson, who infamously filmed a propaganda video praising a high-end grocery store in Moscow, would be the next domino to fall.
In fact, Solovyov went so far as to encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend an offer of asylum to Carlson, as well as MAGA influencers Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson all of whom were secretly paid hefty sums of money in exchange for peddling Kremlin propaganda.
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The Russian media figures also expressed concern for Dimitri Simes, the former Trump adviser who was charged by the DOJ this week for working with sanctioned Russian media operations.
"Solovyov and [Karen] Shakhnazarov pointed out the ties between Simes and Trump, which landed the Russian state TV host in the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election," reports Davis. "Shakhnazarov claimed that Simes and Trump are still communicating—and by indicting Simes, the Department of Justice is actually striking at Trump."
