Trump is rehabilitating right-wing media. Lauren Chen returns despite allegations of money laundering from Russia

The Trump administration granted a visa to Lauren Chen, a right-wing publicist from Canada, who was forced to leave the US after revealing a scandal related to the financing of her company and right-wing influencers by Russian services, The Bulwark website reported. Chen thanked administration officials for this.

About granting a visa – which was taken away from her last year. in connection with Russian financing of her company Tenet Media – the woman announced in an entry on Instagram. She thanked State Department consular affairs adviser Joe Rittenhous for “moving mountains” to enable her returnas well as border services, the “new FBI leadership” and the Trump administration.

$10 million to Russia by a fictitious investor

Chen is a Canadian citizen who, together with her husband Liam Donovan, founded Tenet Media, which publishes podcasts by a number of right-wing publicists and influencers. In 2024, federal prosecutors revealed that the company received $10 million from representatives of the Russian propaganda television RT (formerly Russia Today), who, according to American authorities, were actually working for Russian intelligence services. Chen allegedly cooperated with the Russians to conceal the origin of the funds, which she presented as coming from fictitious millionaire Eduard Grigoriann from Europe. In exchange for money, publicists working for Tenet were to promote Russian narratives, including: attributing to Ukraine the authorship of the Islamic State attack on the Crocus City Hall shopping center near Moscow in March 2024.

Although the prosecutor's office then brought money laundering charges against only two Russians, Chen's company was forced to close the company whose operation was the basis for its legal stay in the US. Chen blamed the Biden administration for kicking her out of the country.

Influencers at Bia showroomsgood house

As The Bulwark notes, despite the scandal none of those financed by Russia with the amount of PLN 400,000. hole. monthly commentators – who claimed they had no knowledge of the origin of the money – the professional did not face any consequenceshi many of them now have a larger audience than before. Two of them, Tim Pool and Benny Johnson, were guests of honor at White House press briefings as representatives of the “new media.” Johnson also accompanied the head of the Ministry of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, on his travels, publishing materials praising her actions against illegal immigrants.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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