In a surprising step, the U.S. Treasury Department designated four people linked to Russia as trying to intervene in the 2020 election. One of those men, Andrii Derkach, has been an ally of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
In a statement on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, “Andrii Derkach and other Russian agents employ manipulation and deceit to attempt to influence elections in the United States and elsewhere around the world.”
Mnuchin continued, “The United States will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to counter these Russian disinformation campaigns and uphold the integrity of our election system.”
Derkach is a member of the Ukrainian parliament.
Giuliani traveled to Ukraine in December of 2019, where he met with Derkach and the pair were photographed together, presenting a paper.
When asked about the news that the Treasury Department had designated Derkach as “an active Russian agent, “Giuliani told CNN, “Who cares?”
The Treasury Department’s statement reads:
“Derkach, a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, has been an active Russian agent for over a decade, maintaining close connections with the Russian Intelligence Services.”
.@SenRonJohnson & @ChuckGrassley have said they did not receive any information from accused Russian agent ANDRII DERKACH. https://t.co/hCneJrmLRE
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) September 10, 2020
But RUDY GIULIANI met & accepted info from Derkach during a December dirt-digging trip to Ukraine I exposed https://t.co/rFT4KXgh09 pic.twitter.com/7F9svHDeCu
The Treasury Department’s statement also noted that “Derkach waged a covert influence campaign centered on cultivating false and unsubstantiated narratives concerning U.S. officials in the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election, spurring corruption investigations in both Ukraine and the United States designed to culminate prior to election day.”
In the United States, Senate Republicans are investigating Joe Biden’s son Hunter and have subpoenaed him. They say that Hunter Biden improperly used his father’s influence during his time on the board of a Ukrainian company.
Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who are leading the investigation into Hunter Biden, have denied Democrats accusations that they are spreading Russian disinformation.
Derkach told Politico that he sent information to lawmakers, as well as to Mick Mulvaney.
But Johnson has admitted that at least one of the auxiliary goals of his investigation is to help President Donald Trump’s re-election chances, saying in an interview, “I would think it would certainly help Donald Trump win reelection and certainly be pretty good, I would say, evidence about not voting for Vice President Biden,
