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What China would do… Hmmm…

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Ryan MacBeth looks like he likes hiding the sausage.

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Has a pretty good take on it.

Basically  indict people who will never go to trial because they are in Russia for legally giving money to people to do what they already were doing.

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What are Ryan Mcbeth's creds besides former NCO intel guy?  Is that it?

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I don't give a shit. Fuck the left, fuck the FBI, and fuck the DOJ.

Just cherrypicking bullshit to distract from their own crimes.

More "Russian Collusion".

THEY are the enemy, their accusations mean fuck-all to me.

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Tim Pool and Benny Johnson are implicated and it adds up.  10mil in laundered money exchanged hands from known Russian Agents through a fake sugar daddy and then to Tenet.  If you watch Tim Pool it is pretty evident he is on the Russian money train.  

I know GD was fussing about Tim Pool just last week.

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Employed by a couple of intel think tanks and does a great deal of public speaking at .mil security seminars around the world.  He was in Australia a couple of weeks ago speaking about DIP to their DOD equivalent heads.  

He also presents to our .mil leaders.  You would do good to follow him on X and YT (his presentations are neutered on YT).

Tim Pool and Benny Johnson are implicated and it adds up.  10mil in laundered money exchanged hands from known Russian Agents through a fake sugar daddy and then to Tenet.  If you watch Tim Pool it is pretty evident he is on the Russian money train.  

I know GD was fussing about Tim Pool just last week.

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Remember: they ALWAYS accuse others of what they're actually doing.

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I have no doubt that the Russians and the Chinese and the Iranians and anybody with 10 billion dollars or more is trying to influence our elections in one way or another, but yeah, this isn't surprising.  Tim pool take a kickback to sell out?...believable.

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And you can read all about that phenomenon here:

Conservative Sympathy for Russia in Ukraine War an Exercise in Cognitive Dissonance: How one of the greatest examples of why a populace should own military weapons is getting ignored by some on the right.
https://content.osgnetworks.tv/firearmsnews/content/photos/americans-taking-sides-in-ukraine-1200x800.jpg

AND HERE:

Left AND Right Showing Cognitive Dissonance on Ukraine and U.S. Gun Rights
https://content.osgnetworks.tv/firearmsnews/content/photos/cognitive-dissonance-ukraine-us-gun-rights-1200x800.jpg

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The constant bashing of people who are against the US taxpayer involvement only leads to more people switching sides on that issue.  You can be pro Ukraine winning, fuck Russia,  AND against sending any US equipment or money.  It's a valid fucking position to have.

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And you can read all about that phenomenon here:

Conservative Sympathy for Russia in Ukraine War an Exercise in Cognitive Dissonance: How one of the greatest examples of why a populace should own military weapons is getting ignored by some on the right.
https://content.osgnetworks.tv/firearmsnews/content/photos/americans-taking-sides-in-ukraine-1200x800.jpg

AND HERE:

Left AND Right Showing Cognitive Dissonance on Ukraine and U.S. Gun Rights
https://content.osgnetworks.tv/firearmsnews/content/photos/cognitive-dissonance-ukraine-us-gun-rights-1200x800.jpg

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Remember how Paul Manafort received payments from the Kremlin to run the campaign for Russian stooge Yanukovych?

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From what I've read about so far:

Tenet Media (Lauren Chen etc.) were potentially working directly with RT / Russian sources for funding.
Lauren Chen has recently been turning aggressively N_T.  I don't know a ton about her other than she has been on some other podcasts and had one or more shows on the (formerly strongly N_T) Glen Beck's BlazeTV network.
Tenet Media licensed 3rd party content such as Culture War Podcast to redistribute on their site, allegedly funded by a benign investor but actually funded by Russian sources
The 3rd party sources like Tim Pool just knew someone was paying them to license their content, with no involvement in the creation of said content.

It sounds sketchy from several angles.  The simple explanation is that the Russian backers are trying to amplify conservative commentators who are skeptical of supporting Ukraine.  That wouldn't be a huge stretch as there are plenty of conservatives who are skeptical of supporting Ukraine for a variety of reasons, most of which have nothing to do with wanting to support Russia.

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I don't give a shit. Fuck the left, fuck the FBI, and fuck the DOJ.

Just cherrypicking bullshit to distract from their own crimes.

More "Russian Collusion".

THEY are the enemy, their accusations mean fuck-all to me.

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He is an idiot if he agrees to any interviews with those assholes. They will absolutely take one thing he said incorrectly and toss him in prison ala Gen Flynn.

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 Tim pool take a kickback to sell out?...believable.

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Answered what?? You have zero critical think abilities and a big mouth.

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Yeah he has nothing to gain from this. Too much risk of a frame job.

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Employed by a couple of intel think tanks and does a great deal of public speaking at .mil security seminars around the world.  He was in Australia a couple of weeks ago speaking about DIP to their DOD equivalent heads.  

He also presents to our .mil leaders.  You would do good to follow him on X and YT (his presentations are neutered on YT).

Tim Pool and Benny Johnson are implicated and it adds up.  10mil in laundered money exchanged hands from known Russian Agents through a fake sugar daddy and then to Tenet.  If you watch Tim Pool it is pretty evident he is on the Russian money train.  

I know GD was fussing about Tim Pool just last week.

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I’d just have not taken blood money from a hostile foreign power that is an adversary to America, but that’s just me.

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Elaborate. I listen to his podcasts pretty much every day.

He's not a fan of us financing Ukraine and thinks that we shouldn't be involved - that seems to be the low bar set by many to make this claim.

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Ryan McBeth and Preston Stewart have both spawned out of the Ukraine War an produce some great short form military analysis on youtube and twitter..

Its funny that GD hates on Ryan so much considering he is probably a member here. He’s a big Sig guy, has a CCW in Maryland, and I would peg him on the right side of the political spectrum.

The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment Wednesday alleging that two Russian nationals working for President Vladimir Putin’s government funneled millions of dollars into a media company run by anti-Trump conservative influencer Lauren Chen.

“An indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York charged Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, both based in Moscow, with conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act,” CBS News reported on Wednesday.

The two defendants worked for the Russian state-controlled outlet RT, formerly known as Russia Today, before it was disbanded in the United States following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Federal prosecutors said RT oversaw a series of ‘covert projects’ that included funneling $10 million through a series of shell entities to a Tennessee-based company launched in 2023 that publishes videos on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter,” added CBS News.

The indictment charged that the videos published by the company contained “commentary on events and issues in the United States, such as immigration, inflation, and other topics related to domestic and foreign policy.”

“While the views expressed in the videos are not uniform, the subject matter and content of the videos are often consistent with the Government of Russia’s interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Government of Russia interests, such as its ongoing war in Ukraine,” noted the indictment.

The indictment does not name the company, only noting that it bills itself as a “network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.” Reporters identified the company as Tenet Media, which says on its website:

Tenet Media is a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues. Our goal is to support creators who question institutions that believe themselves to be above questioning. In our view, all issues du jour merit rigorous and honest discussion if one wants to come closest to the truth. For those interested in authentic coverage of the topics that matter most, Tenet Media is your home for content : fearless voices live here.

The company allegedly had business arrangements of varying depths and duration with popular influencers such as Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, and Lauren Southern as talent.

Most of those listed have voiced pro-Trump opinions, though Chen herself had turned on the former president.

The indictment clarified that at least two talents – Tim Pool being one – were “deceived” by Tenet Media’s two founders, Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan. Per CBS News:

Records with the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office show that Tenet Media incorporated on Jan. 19, 2022, the same date of incorporation mentioned in the indictment, and is headquartered in Nashville. It was founded by Liam Donovan and his wife, Lauren Chen. The founders are referred to as Founder-1 and Founder-2 in the indictment and prosecutors said they jointly run the company.

Tenet reportedly never disclosed that it had been “funded and directed” by RT, with neither the company nor its founders registering with the Justice Department as a foreign agent.

Tim Pool described himself as a “victim” in a statement on social media, charging that he had full editorial control of his show and at no point issued any talking points at Russia’s behest.

“Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims. I cannot speak for anyone else at the company as to what they do or to what they are instructed,” Pool said.

Tim Pool later deleted his statement, but commented on his show, saying that he had never produced content at anyone’s behest, and that had simply agreed to allow some of his content to be licensed.

Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson issued a similar statements. On social media, Johnson said that his lawyers had negotiated a “standard, arms length deal” that was later terminated.

“A year ago, a media startup pitched my company to provide content as an independent contractor. Our lawyers negotiated a standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated. We are disturbed by the allegations in today’s indictment, which make clear that myself and other influencers were victims in this alleged scheme. My lawyers will handle anyone who states or suggests otherwise,” said Johnson.

“These allegations clearly show that I and other commentators were the victims of this scheme. I knew absolutely nothing about any of this fraudulent activity. Period. … The DoJ has never contacted me regarding this matter and I have no intention to comment further,” said Dave Rubin.

The sums of money paid were large. CBS notes: “One unidentified influencer’s contract included a $400,000 monthly fee, a $100,000 signing bonus and an additional performance bonus.”

Former Breitbart News editor and Trump administration official Sebastian Gorka said he had been approached by Chen to produce content for Tenet, and had turned down the money after doing his “due diligence.”

“The money looked great. But I wanted to know where it was coming from,” he said in a post on X. “After pushing repeatedly she gave me names of people who had no internet footprint — like one Eduard Grigoriann — or who had zero media connections. I mean none.

“It just didn’t add up.”


The indictment specifically labels Lauren Chen as the primary liaison between the Russian nationals and the talents that were allegedly recruited. It also said that Lauren Chen knew the source of her funding. In one particular instance, the indictment said that a producer took issue with posting a pro-Russian video from commentator Tucker Carlson that “Founder-2? insisted on.

“Producer-I privately messaged Founder-2 on Discord: ‘They want me to post this’—referencing the video that Afanasyeva posted—but ‘it just feels like overt shilling.’ Founder-2 replied that Founder-I ‘thinks we should put it out there.’ Producer-I acquiesced, responding, ‘alright I’ll put it out tomorrow,'” said the indictment.


Over the past year, Lauren Chen has increasingly taken positions counter to mainstream conservative political thought, including opposition to Israel and discussion of repealing the 19th Amendment (which granted women the right to vote). In recent weeks, she had been advocating for conservatives to withhold their votes from former President Trump due to his pragmatic views on abortion.

Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, and Dave Rubin have maintained pro-Trump positions.

One common thread between the influencers named in the indictment is skepticism of U.S. policy in Ukraine, which Russia may have wished to amplify.

Speculation about other motives proliferated online on Wednesday, with Democrats suggesting that Russia had wanted to help Trump, and conservatives pointing out that Russia had supported conservatives opposed to Trump.