RT, a Kremlin-backed network, is believed to be a key player in a misinformation campaign.

The Biden administration accused Russia on Wednesday of attempting to influence the U.S. 2024 presidential election through targeting American voters via state-run media, other online platforms and other online campaigns as part of an “doppelganger” campaign.

Attorney General Merrick G. Garland, along with FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Deputy Attorney-General Lisa Monaco, announced that prosecutors had unsealed indictments in the Southern District of New York against “two Russian employees of RT, a Russian government-controlled media outlet,” which charges them with “conspiring for money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.”

Garland said to reporters that the editor-in chief of the RT TV Network “said” the company built an entire empire of covert project designed to influence public opinion among Western audiences. ‘”

Garland stated: “We allege, as part of this effort, RT, its employees and the defendants implemented a nearly 10 million dollar scheme to fund and instruct a Tennessee-based firm to publish and distribute content deemed favorable for the Russian government.” To implement this scheme the defendants instructed the company to hire social media influencers based in the United States to share the content on their platforms. The content and subject matter of many videos published by the firm were consistent with Russia’s desire to amplify U.S. divisions to weaken U.S. resistance to Russian core interests, including its ongoing war against Ukraine.

Garland stated that the DOJ had seized 32 domains on the internet “that were used by the Russian government or Russian-sponsored actors to engage in an undercover campaign to influence and interfere with the outcome of the elections held in our country.”

He said that, “as alleged in court documents, President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle including Sergei Kiriyenko directed Russian public relations firms to promote disinformation as part of an effort to influence the U.S. Presidential election 2024,”

These websites were created to look like major U.S. News sites such as the Washington Post and Fox News to American readers, but they were actually fake sites. The Kremlin created these websites to spread Russian propaganda, reduce international support for Ukraine and bolster pro Russian policies and interests. They also wanted to influence voters in America and other countries. The Kremlin’s internal documents described the content of the articles as “bogus stories disguised” as newsworthy events. This malign influence was referred to by the term “doppelganger.” ‘”

In a separate statement, the DOJ said that “in conjunction with domain seizures, U.S. Treasury Department has announced the designations of 10 individuals as well as two entities in response to Russia’s malign efforts to influence the U.S. Presidential election of 2024.”

RT responded, “We have a response.” When Fox News Digital asked about its reaction, RT replied, “We definitely have a response.” We had several but couldn’t choose one. (We even considered running a poll in the office). So here are our responses.

The cliches “2016 called, and it wants them back” was one of the many. Others included: “Three certainties in life are death, taxes, and RT’s interference with U.S. election,” “We gotta get our Kremlin pay some how,” and “Somewhere, Secretary Clinton is sad it’s not her fault.”

When asked by Fox News’ David Spunt about how Garland could assure Americans of the seriousness, Garland replied: “I know [RT’s] response was funnier in Russia’s original version, but it’s just not funny for us.”

Garland stated, “This is a very serious matter and we will treat it as such.”

Spunt asked Wray if he had any advice for other U.S. enemies who are trying to influence U.S. election.

Wray told the audience to “knock it off.” As long as our adversaries continue to try to influence our society and interfere with our democratic processes, the FBI will be a constant target.

“We will continue to call it out.” I believe that nations all over the world are also beginning to see the same behavior. “It’s not what we would expect of nations who want to play on the first-world space.”

In 2017, the Justice Department required RT to register as a foreign agent. The Justice Department made RT register as a “foreign agent” in 2017.

It also stated that “Since august 2014, T&R operated studios for RT and hired and paid all U.S. based RT staff, as well as produced English-language programs for RT which are both shown on cable network across the United States, and available on RT’s website.”

Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer, told Fox News Digital previously that RT and propaganda from other countries was part of the cyberwarfare Russia waged against the West.

She said that in 2022, “They do not only wage propaganda during wartime or conflict.” They do it in peacetime. They continually malign the United States, and misrepresent the foreign policy objectives. I’m only saying that it tilts the playing field in favor of Russia when we let their propaganda channels broadcast unfettered.

“RT is 100% a Russia government-controlled channel and its sole intent is to predispose the American population and wherever they are broadcasting towards the Russian point of view and to present the events on the ground as the Russians want the rest of the world to see them, so if the United States did not want that to happen then it would be appropriate to shut down the channel,” Koffler added.