Russia Today ignores US demand to register as foreign agent
Television channel Russia Today (RT) has not met the US Department of Justice’s demand for self-registration as a foreign agent by the set deadline, the TV channel CNN, citing documents released by the US Department of Justice.
RT was supposed to register as an agent before October 17.
It is noted that the TV channel is deliberately opposing the decision by the United States. "Our legal team has been doing everything possible for RT to avoid having to register under FARA, and the dialogue is ongoing. On their advice, we are not discussing further details at this time,” said RT head of communications Anna Belkina.
According to experts from FARA, the US Department of Justice may respond by issuing a second warning, as well as initiating civil or criminal proceedings against RT.
At the end of September, Twitter testified before the US Congress about RT’s spending on advertising for its US user accounts. According to the company's estimates, the channel spent $274,000 on advertising in 2016. Another $ 100,000 went toward the TV channel’s political advertising on Facebook.
The US Department of Justice later demanded the channel to register as a foreign agent.