The FBI has questioned the former White House correspondent of Sputnik news, as it probes whether the Kremlin-backed Internet site has violated a statute requiring the registration of foreign agents seeking to sway U.S. public opinion.
Former Sputnik White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg says he got fired from the site, which is owned by a Russian government-backed entity, after he refused pressure from his bosses to advance a conspiracy theory about murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich.
Feinberg has turned over a thumb drive containing thousands of of documents and emails, and was interviewed by an FBI investigator, who probed him about his tenure there and the circumstances of his firing.
Former Sputnik News White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg says he was questioned by the FBI
‘They were interested in examples of how I was steered towards covering certain issues,’ Feinberg told Yahoo News.
Feinberg spent two hours getting questioned by the agent and a Justice Department lawyer.
He said the questions focused on ‘internal structure, editorial processes and funding’ of the outlet – an indication
‘They wanted to know where did my orders come from and if I ever got any direction from Moscow,’ Feinberg told the outlet. ‘They were interested in examples of how I was steered towards covering certain issues.’
Mindia Gavasheli, the editor-in-chief of Sputnik’s D.C. bureau, holds a press conference in their newsroom in Washington, DC
Former Director, FBI and Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III addresses graduates at Tabor Academy commencement exercises in Marion, MA on May 29, 2017
Feinberg says he got fired after refusing to ask a question about the a conspiracy theory relating for murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich, who died in his transitioning Washington, D.C. neighborhood
Feinberg, who joined the outlet in January, says he got fired after refusing pressure to ask a question at the White House press briefing about a conspiracy relating to murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich.
When he worked for the site in May, higher-ups wanted him to inquire about a retracted Fox News report that Rich had a role in handing over thousands of internal DNC emails to WikiLeaks during the election. The U.S. intelligence community has concluded Russia was behind a hacking effort that lead to the leak.
‘It was, ‘We want you to ask about Seth Rich and just, you know, ask about the case and if those revelations should put an end to the Russia hacking narrative and the investigation,’ Rich told Yahoo. He called the pressure ‘disturbing,’ and says it led to him getting a letter firing him.
It isn’t entirely clear how or whether the questioning might fit into the FBI’s investigation of broader Russian efforts to influence the U.S. elections.
Sputnik is owned by the Russian government-owned Rossiya Segodnya.
The outlet’s editor in chief, Mindia Gavasheli, said: ‘Any assertion that we are not a news organization is simply false.’ He told Yahoo upon getting contacted: ‘This is the first time I’m hearing about it, and I don’t think anyone at Sputnik was contacted, so thank you for letting us know.’
The Senate Judiciary Committee is conducting a probe of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires foreign agents to register with the government and disclose their finances if they are seeking the influence the public or policy, punishable by fines or jail time.