U.S. Intelligence Has Been Aware of Russian Ties to RT for ‘Some Number of Years’

By Chris Ariens 

At the House Intelligence Committee hearing looking into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), tried to make the connection between Pres. Trump’s former national security adviser Mike Flynn and his work, before his short tenure at the White House, for Russian clients.

“Am I right that the RT (Russia Today) is essentially owned by the Russian government, and how long has the intelligence community been looking at RT as an arm of the Russian government?,” Rep. Sewell asked NSA director Admiral Mike Rogers.

“We’re certainly aware and have been for some period of time of the direct connections between the Russian government and RT individuals with monetary flow and other things,” said Admiral Rogers.

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Sewell: How long have you known about that?

Rogers: Some number of years. I apologize, ma’am. I just don’t know off the top of my head.

Sewell: Aren’t I right to assume, then, that the former director of DIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, Mr. Flynn, would be have been aware that RT’s role as an anti-U.S. Russian propaganda outlet, when he agreed to speak at their anniversary gala in 2015, isn’t it reasonable to assume that he would know?

Rogers: I’m not in a position to comment on the knowledge of something else from another person, ma’am.

RT, which launched in 2005, is carried on cable systems including Comcast, Spectrum, and Verizon FiOS. In a 2010 interview with TVNewser, RT editor in chief Margarita Simonyan, said, “Being government funded does not necessarily mean being biased, just like being privately funded does not necessarily mean being independent.”

In 2014 one of RT’s anchors, Liz Wahl, quit on air. That was followed by the resignation of reporter Sara Firth, “I have huge respect for many in the team, but I’m for the truth,” she said at the time.

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