Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire tech entrepreneur who with his brother Nikolai Durov co-founded the encrypted messaging app Telegram and serves as its CEO, is in custody after being arrested at an airport outside of Paris, law enforcement officials in France confirmed on Monday. He could be detained through Wednesday in connection with a probe into illegal activity on Telegram. After that, he would have to be released or charged.
It’s not currently clear whether charges have been brought against Durov himself, as a press release from French prosecutors...
It’s not currently clear whether charges have been brought against Durov himself, as a press release from French prosecutors...
- 8/26/2024
- by Miles Klee
- Rollingstone.com
A Russian national working with the Russian Federal Security Service (Fsb) has been charged with allegedly orchestrating a “years-long foreign malign influence campaign…to sow discord, spread pro-Russian propaganda, and interfere in elections within the United States.”
The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment on Friday, which alleges that, between 2014 and 2022, Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov recruited multiple unnamed American political groups “and exercised direction or control over them on behalf of the Fsb.” Ivanov allegedly wielded influence by funding “direct action by these groups within the United States intended to further...
The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment on Friday, which alleges that, between 2014 and 2022, Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov recruited multiple unnamed American political groups “and exercised direction or control over them on behalf of the Fsb.” Ivanov allegedly wielded influence by funding “direct action by these groups within the United States intended to further...
- 7/29/2022
- by Nikki McCann Ramirez and Adam Rawnsley
- Rollingstone.com
Maria Butina, the Russia agent who infiltrated the National Rifle Association and charmed several Republican figures before landing an 18-month prison sentence, has emerged as one of Vladimir Putin’s most vocal advocates as Russian forces continue to wreak havoc on Ukraine and its people. In fact, Butina is so deep in Putin’s propaganda hole that she’s suggesting it’s Ukraine itself, not Russia, laying waste to Ukraine.
“We have tons of evidence that the Russia army does not touch, does not bomb civilian populations,” she told BBC Radio...
“We have tons of evidence that the Russia army does not touch, does not bomb civilian populations,” she told BBC Radio...
- 3/9/2022
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted in favor of a resolution supporting Ukraine. Four-hundred and twenty five members voted in favor of the resolution. Three voted against it.
Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) decided not to support the resolution affirming America’s belief in Ukraine’s sovereignty, and holding that the U.S. “will never recognize or support any illegitimate Russian-controlled leader or government installed through the use of force.”
The bill also called for the U.S. to “deliver additional and...
Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) decided not to support the resolution affirming America’s belief in Ukraine’s sovereignty, and holding that the U.S. “will never recognize or support any illegitimate Russian-controlled leader or government installed through the use of force.”
The bill also called for the U.S. to “deliver additional and...
- 3/2/2022
- by Ryan Bort and Tim Dickinson
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Dominick Montiglio, who was at the center of one of the most vicious mafia crews in history, is telling his mob story.
Montiglio is telling the story of his involvement in the notorious DeMeo Crew, part of the Gambino crime family who became some of New York’s most dangerous hitmen, in eight-part audio series Mafia Tapes from Investigation Discovery (ID).
After spending years trying to escape his birthright and returning from serving in Vietnam, Dominick Montiglio finally succumbs and joins his family’s “business”— the American Cosa Nostra. His job? Keep an eye on the DeMeo Crew. When things go south, Dominick must choose between his oath of loyalty to the Mafia and his own survival.
Mafia Tapes is hosted by Celia Aniskovich, who has worked on TV series including Netflix’s How to Fix a Drug Scandal and Fear City: New York vs the Mafia as well...
Montiglio is telling the story of his involvement in the notorious DeMeo Crew, part of the Gambino crime family who became some of New York’s most dangerous hitmen, in eight-part audio series Mafia Tapes from Investigation Discovery (ID).
After spending years trying to escape his birthright and returning from serving in Vietnam, Dominick Montiglio finally succumbs and joins his family’s “business”— the American Cosa Nostra. His job? Keep an eye on the DeMeo Crew. When things go south, Dominick must choose between his oath of loyalty to the Mafia and his own survival.
Mafia Tapes is hosted by Celia Aniskovich, who has worked on TV series including Netflix’s How to Fix a Drug Scandal and Fear City: New York vs the Mafia as well...
- 1/10/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
In a dark, affecting stunt, parents of students killed in the 2018 Parkland massacre tricked former NRA president David Keane into delivering a commencement address to an audience of thousands of empty chairs — representing each of the 3,044 young victims of gun violence who might otherwise have graduated from high school this year.
Keane was invited to speak at the graduation ceremony of a fictional James Madison High School, purportedly named after the author of the Second Amendment. Keane was told he had to do a practice-run of his speech on June 4th in Las Vegas,...
Keane was invited to speak at the graduation ceremony of a fictional James Madison High School, purportedly named after the author of the Second Amendment. Keane was told he had to do a practice-run of his speech on June 4th in Las Vegas,...
- 6/24/2021
- by Tim Dickinson
- Rollingstone.com
Podcast studio Wondery has released the first audio trailer for Spy Affair, a new six-part miniseries. The show, which premieres March 30th on Apple Podcasts, investigates the true story of Russian gun advocate Maria Butina, who was convicted in 2018 of conspiring to act as a foreign agent within the United States.
Amid the politically charged relationship between the U.S. and Russia, Butina sought to improve each country’s view of the other by forming powerful allegiances in both nations — or so she claims. Her actions led to her becoming entangled in an FBI investigation,...
Amid the politically charged relationship between the U.S. and Russia, Butina sought to improve each country’s view of the other by forming powerful allegiances in both nations — or so she claims. Her actions led to her becoming entangled in an FBI investigation,...
- 3/15/2021
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Donald Trump is going out like he came in: corrupt as hell.
The departing president left the White House for Mar-a-Lago at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, slinking out after a disastrous and deadly four years. One of his last acts on the job was granting a flurry of pardons and commutations (nearly 150 in all), many of them to his white-collar cronies. The last-minute pardon spree had long been expected, and wasn’t at all out of character for a president who routinely abused his ability to unilaterally absolve allies of federal crimes.
The departing president left the White House for Mar-a-Lago at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, slinking out after a disastrous and deadly four years. One of his last acts on the job was granting a flurry of pardons and commutations (nearly 150 in all), many of them to his white-collar cronies. The last-minute pardon spree had long been expected, and wasn’t at all out of character for a president who routinely abused his ability to unilaterally absolve allies of federal crimes.
- 1/20/2021
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
Maria Butina, the Russian woman charged with acting as a foreign agent, tells 60 Minutes on Sunday that she never “sought to influence” U.S. policies and that she only “wanted to learn from the United States and make Russia better.”
The CBS newsmagazine landed the first U.S. interview with Butina, who was released on October 15 after serving for 15 months in prison.
When she was arrested in July 2018, just as Special Counsel Robert Mueller was in the midst of his investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 election, there was intense speculation over her contacts with members of the National Rifle Association.
In the U.S. on a student visa, she posted pictures of herself with Republican politicians and organized meetings in Russia with NRA members and Russian officials. Also under scrutiny were her contacts with the Trump campaign’s Russia advisers in 2016.
In a Twitter message to a friend in...
The CBS newsmagazine landed the first U.S. interview with Butina, who was released on October 15 after serving for 15 months in prison.
When she was arrested in July 2018, just as Special Counsel Robert Mueller was in the midst of his investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 election, there was intense speculation over her contacts with members of the National Rifle Association.
In the U.S. on a student visa, she posted pictures of herself with Republican politicians and organized meetings in Russia with NRA members and Russian officials. Also under scrutiny were her contacts with the Trump campaign’s Russia advisers in 2016.
In a Twitter message to a friend in...
- 11/1/2019
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Maria Butina, an undercover Russian agent, was released from the Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institution on Friday after serving over 15 months behind bars. According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, she is expected to be immediately deported to Moscow, Russia. Butina, a Russian national who studied at an American University in D.C., pleaded guilty to […]
The post Russian Spy Maria Butina Released From Prison & Deported Back To Russia appeared first on uInterview.
The post Russian Spy Maria Butina Released From Prison & Deported Back To Russia appeared first on uInterview.
- 10/26/2019
- by Rebecca Shea
- Uinterview
A long-awaited Senate report into the connections between the National Rifle Association and Russia describes the NRA as a “foreign asset” and underscores the NRA’s connections to, and activities in, Russia could “jeopardize” the organization’s nonprofit status.
The investigation, conducted by ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and the minority staff of the Senate Finance Committee, “confirms that the NRA, its officers, board members, and donors engaged in a years-long effort to facilitate the U.S.-based activities of Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin,” the report states.
Butina...
The investigation, conducted by ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and the minority staff of the Senate Finance Committee, “confirms that the NRA, its officers, board members, and donors engaged in a years-long effort to facilitate the U.S.-based activities of Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin,” the report states.
Butina...
- 9/27/2019
- by Tim Dickinson
- Rollingstone.com
Former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne came to me months ago with a wild, difficult tale. I told him any story would have to come with a caveat.
“There’s not going to be any way to tell this,” I told him, “without explaining to readers you’re a different sort of dude.”
Unable to confirm enough of his story, I ended up hesitating. The tale is now out, and Byrne, whom I’ve known and liked for almost a decade, is taking a beating in the press. It’s unfortunate,...
“There’s not going to be any way to tell this,” I told him, “without explaining to readers you’re a different sort of dude.”
Unable to confirm enough of his story, I ended up hesitating. The tale is now out, and Byrne, whom I’ve known and liked for almost a decade, is taking a beating in the press. It’s unfortunate,...
- 9/4/2019
- by Matt Taibbi
- Rollingstone.com
“The Family” wasn’t designed as a sneak attack. In creating the newly released five-part documentary series for Netflix, director Jesse Moss wanted to be very upfront about his goals for profiling the secretive organization known as The Fellowship.
Using the experiences of reporter Jeff Sharlet as a starting point in his research, Moss wanted to present a full view of the organization’s history, using a bevy of filmmaking styles and techniques to connect the Fellowship’s decades-long journey from a small prayer gathering to a global entity that sways public opinion in countries around the globe. So rather than request interviews or access under vague or misrepresented pretext, Moss wrote the organization directly about his aims.
“At the beginning of the process, I went and wrote a letter to the Fellowship that said, very straightforward, ‘I would like to come and talk to you about your work. I...
Using the experiences of reporter Jeff Sharlet as a starting point in his research, Moss wanted to present a full view of the organization’s history, using a bevy of filmmaking styles and techniques to connect the Fellowship’s decades-long journey from a small prayer gathering to a global entity that sways public opinion in countries around the globe. So rather than request interviews or access under vague or misrepresented pretext, Moss wrote the organization directly about his aims.
“At the beginning of the process, I went and wrote a letter to the Fellowship that said, very straightforward, ‘I would like to come and talk to you about your work. I...
- 8/14/2019
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
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