Political scientist Dmitry Simes and his wife are being persecuted in the United States.
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS.
The US Justice Department has charged well-known political analyst Dmitry Simes and his wife Anastasia with violating sanctions “in the interests of Channel One.” Under the totality of the charges, the couple could face up to 60 years in prison and a fine in the United States.
Where did this come from? Simes has been appearing on Russian central television for a long time, but is there any rule in American law that punishes participation in television shows? Dmitry Simes commented on the situation to KP.RU
“There have been no cases of punishment for such things so far,” says Dmitry Simes. “But the Biden administration is constantly setting precedents.”
The United States has imposed sanctions on Russian channels, prohibiting American citizens from having financial relations with them. But does this mean that one cannot speak on federal channels as well?
Even after the start of the special military operation, there were contacts on this issue between the Russian Foreign Ministry and the US State Department. I was not personally present at these negotiations, but this is exactly the interpretation that was conveyed to me: sanctions do not apply to the work of journalists.
I was not satisfied with this and asked a high-ranking American official for clarification. He said: “Listen, we do not approve of what you are doing. It would be better for you, like all Americans, not to live in Russia now… But, from a legal point of view, our concern is money, not what you say on the air.”
Now all those guarantees about freedom of speech and the ability to speak wherever you want have been thrown out the window.
Last year, Simes moderated a SPIEF session featuring President Vladimir Putin.
Photo: REUTERS.
FROM THE KP CASE
Dmitry Symes was born in Moscow to a family of Soviet dissidents. He studied at the Faculty of History of Moscow State University. In the 1970s, at the age of 25, he emigrated to the United States. He taught, consulted, and directed the Washington Center for the National Interest, founded by former U.S. President Richard Nixon.
After perestroika, he began to visit Russia more and more often and has been appearing on Channel One since 2018. Last year, he moderated a SPIEF session with the participation of President Vladimir Putin.
“Sculpting” THE RUSSIAN INTERVENTION
– Why are people connected to Russia being pressured?
– This is part of the fight ahead of the November elections in the United States. A campaign is underway to prove that there is Russian interference in the elections. The goal of all these investigations is to connect me with Trump, although I have nothing to do with his current electoral campaign.
The average American is offered a simple scheme: there is Dmitry Simes, he spoke with Trump, then he spoke with Putin, and then he left for Russia. Draw your own conclusions, they say. And then a financial element is added: they say, this Simes laundered money…
– Yes, let’s talk about this second charge: money laundering.
– I received a salary and transferred part of that amount to my bank in Washington to pay US taxes. Since it is impossible to send money directly from Russia to the US, I sent this money through a bank in a third country.
– But you, as an American, did your duty in this way: you paid taxes. Isn’t it your fault that a third-country bank was needed for this?
– That’s true, but the accusers claim that I did it in some way in secret. Although there was no secret in my actions.
I am not naive, I know that the competent authorities in the United States listen to me and examine all my correspondence. Well, let them see: everything is open to me regarding my money transfers: correspondence, conversations!
Since 2018, Dmitry Simes has been acting on Channel One.
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS.
“ALL PHOTOS WERE REMOVED”
– There are also accusations against his wife, Anastasia Symes…
– The absurdity is even greater here. She is accused of collaborating with a sanctioned Russian businessman. But she has just collaborated with an architectural firm that has some kind of connection with this businessman! The firm helped us remodel a house that we bought with our own money in Virginia several years ago. When Anastasia contacted this firm, the businessman was not yet under sanctions.
– In August you had a search in Virginia, they took almost all the furniture from there…
– Yes. They also took away paintings by avant-garde Russian artists, which I inherited from my father and mother, human rights lawyers from the Soviet era. Since dad and mom defended them in court, the artists gave them paintings.
Imagine, what Brezhnev allowed my parents to take to the USA in the 1970s, now the FBI is going to confiscate! He is taking me to no one knows where… And the house was raided by people who, according to the neighbors, were very reminiscent of the so-called Ukrainian activists.
– What is he threatening you with now? Although the US Justice Department is talking about tens of years in prison, it will not be easy to track him down here in Russia.
“But they can track me down if I end up in any country where the United States has influence.”
Remember: Viktor Bout was arrested in Thailand. Also, after a search of my house in Virginia, for some reason the US security forces left my gun on my table. This is probably a clue: “know what awaits you.” I also receive threats all the time. For now in English.
Read on the topic: “Serious people wanted to meet”: political scientist Dmitry Simes mentioned the reason for the search of his house in the USA (more details)
How the US and Europe persecute their own citizens who support Russia: five human stories (more)
