logo
Trump official who shut down Russia propaganda unit has links to Kremlin

Trump official who shut down Russia propaganda unit has links to Kremlin

Telegraph03-06-2025
A senior official who dismantled the US government's Russian disinformation unit is married to a Russian woman with links to the Kremlin, The Telegraph can reveal.
Darren Beattie has provoked alarm within the State Department since being appointed in February for his ardent pro-Russian views and focus on destroying the agency tasked with tackling Kremlin propaganda.
Mr Beattie, the acting under-secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, is married to a woman whose uncle has taken several roles in Russian politics and once received a personal 'thank you' message from Vladimir Putin.
In the years before joining the government, Mr Beattie wrote social media posts suggesting Western institutions should be 'infiltrated' by Putin, while he also attacked what he described as the 'globalist American empire'.
Donald Trump is under pressure from many in his party, particularly senators, to take a tougher stance on the Russian leader while he continues to refuse to sign a ceasefire deal as the war in Ukraine drags on.
Many of Mr Beattie's social media posts also concern China, repeatedly calling on the US to surrender Taiwan to Beijing, and labelling Britain a 'poor and pathetic kingdom' that would be 'far better off under Chinese dominion'.
State Department sources expressed scepticism over whether he had undergone security vetting, a process which has been relaxed under Mr Trump.
Mr Beattie was a member of the first Trump administration, but after being sacked in 2018 for allegedly attending a white nationalist conference, he reinvented himself as an ' alt-Right ' media figure.
In May 2021, public records show, he married a Russian woman called Yulia Kirillova in a ceremony in Broward County, Florida.
Ms Kirillova, who according to her Facebook page was educated in Moscow before studying abroad in Canada and Washington DC, is the niece of Sergei Chernikov, a Russian drinks magnate who part-owns a flat with her mother, Natalia.
Mr Chernikov, whose net worth was estimated to be $150 million in 2005, reportedly received a letter of thanks from Putin for his help in the election campaign which first brought the Russian leader to power.
The same year, Mr Chernikov took his first step into politics, taking a role in the ministry of natural resources, before becoming deputy governor of the Nenets region in Siberia.
From 2008 to 2010, he was a member of Russia's civic chamber, which was founded following a proposal by Putin and is notionally meant to scrutinise the activities of the Russian government.
When the chamber was set up, critics claimed that it would be staffed by Kremlin allies and used to diminish a rival power base in the Russian State Duma.
Both before and after his marriage to Mr Chernikov's niece, Mr Beattie has repeatedly attacked what he called the 'globalist American empire' while praising both Russia and China as counterweights to its 'woke' ideology.
'The rise of non-woke (China) and anti-woke (Russia) geopolitical competitors to the Globalist American Empire is not a bad thing,' he wrote in October 2021.
He also said he looked forward to its 'prestige and power' collapsing on the world stage and claimed that its 'position in the global order [is] rapidly deteriorating'.
Mr Beattie, and Revolver, the news outlet he founded after leaving the first Trump administration, argues that the US has sought to engineer 'colour revolutions' around the world – a common trope in Russia and China to dismiss pro-democracy movements as Western-backed coup attempts.
The businessman has claimed the US is running 'colour revolution ops' in Ukraine, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Myanmar, and that an American 'colour revolution brigade' is pushing for a 'forever war in Ukraine'.
Two months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he said: 'Imagine the whining from the Globalist American Empire if Putin 'invades' Ukraine… I love it when our national security bureaucrats fail!'
He has also praised Putin as 'brave and strong', and claimed the Russian leader had 'done more to advance conservative positions in the US than any Republican'. He also declared: 'Nato is a much greater threat to American liberty than Putin ever was.'
'The funny thing is just about every Western institution would improve in quality if it were directly infiltrated and controlled by Putin,' he wrote in September 2021.
Many of his posts focus on Britain, claiming it treats white people 'far worse' than the Uyghur population that Chinese authorities have imprisoned in camps in Xinjiang.
He has labelled Britain a 'sewage pit' and 'the most utterly repulsive dystopia on earth'.
In a post more than two years after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, he criticised the UK's policy of 'antagonising Russia'.
All of these social media posts were still online at the time of writing, although Mr Beattie has deleted disparaging tweets about Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, having previously claimed his now-boss attended 'gay foam parties'.
According to Ms Kirillova's Facebook page, she moved to Washington on Jan 28, roughly a week before her husband began his role at the State Department.
Despite his wide-ranging brief at the heart of the US government, Mr Beattie is said to have focused a disproportionate amount of time on seeking to dismantle the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference hub, known as R/Fimi, while building cultural ties with Russia.
'Censorship network'
R/Fimi, which tracked and countered propaganda from sources including Russia, China and Iran, was a relatively small agency with a budget of just over $50 million at the time it was shut down.
The US's adversaries are estimated to spend tens of billions of dollars a year on foreign disinformation.
Mr Beattie's news outlet Revolver had spent years attacking R/Fimi, accusing it of being part of a 'censorship network' designed to silence conservative voices.
Sources said Mr Beattie had doggedly pursued the agency after being appointed, taking it apart piece by piece.
Contractors were sacked and officials were ordered to stop communicating with others in the State Department or external partners without explicit permission.
Even before it was disbanded in mid-April, when Mr Beattie told staff in a brief speech that it was 'severely misaligned' with the administration's priorities, its work had essentially wrapped up.
Mr Rubio confirmed in an interview distributed by the State Department the same day that Mr Beattie had played a major role in abolishing R/Fimi.
At the same time as Mr Beattie was working on dismantling the agency, he is said to have pushed to rebuild relations with Russia, insisting on instituting cultural exchange programmes in fields such as ballet and hockey.
He is also said to have taken a significant interest in classified material related to Russia, prompting widespread concern about turning over sensitive information to him.
Sources were highly sceptical if it had undergone a security vetting process, which the State Department's website notes can take anywhere from a couple of months to over a year to complete.
Beattie limited to 210 days in post
On his first day in office, Mr Trump unilaterally granted top-secret security clearances to personnel in the Executive Office of the President citing a backlog in processing. The office is not part of the State Department.
MIT Technology Review reported this month that Mr Beattie had launched a sweeping effort to obtain records from R/Fimi staff shortly before it closed, apparently with the intention of characterising it as an organisation dedicated to smearing conservatives.
He asked for communications with or about reporters who write about foreign disinformation, along with references to Mr Trump and his allies. One official said the move amounted to a 'witch hunt'.
Mr Beattie would need confirmation by the Senate to take on the under-secretary role full-time: as an acting official, he is limited to 210 days.
Allies in the media have suggested he is unlikely to survive his time in the spotlight, and have suggested permanent posts where he could be installed without requiring backing from senators.
A senior State Department official said: 'No one in America cares about a British gossip column. This is all fake news and low even for tabloid standards.
'Darren is a tremendous colleague who is committed to advancing President Trump's America First agenda.
'In a few short months, he has been able to spearhead high-level projects that have been critical in advancing a foreign policy that puts our national interests first.'
Mr Chernikov and Ms Kirillova have been approached for comment.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Montreal over Miami: Patriotic Canadians change summer vacation plans
Montreal over Miami: Patriotic Canadians change summer vacation plans

Reuters

time3 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Montreal over Miami: Patriotic Canadians change summer vacation plans

TORONTO, July 25 (Reuters) - Canadians are trading their annual vacation south of the border for road trips around Ottawa, the midnight sun in Yukon, whale watching in Nova Scotia or hiking in Banff. The newfound desire to stay local started earlier this year when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to annex Canada and imposed a series of tariffs on Canadian goods, spurring a 'Buy Canadian' movement to boycott U.S. businesses and avoid traveling to the U.S. London, Ontario-based Guess Where Trips sells curated mystery road trip packages in four Canadian provinces and reported a 75% increase in sales of trips across the country so far this year from a year ago. "It is clear that more Canadians are choosing to explore small businesses and hidden gems close to home, rather than crossing the border for their holidays and vacations," operations manager Jessica Bax said. Road trips around Ottawa are among their most popular packages, Bax said, as more Canadians explore their capital city. Prime Minister Mark Carney has also made a pitch for Canadians to take advantage of a new "Canada Strong" pass that grants free or discounted access to several national parks, historic sites and museums this summer. "Canadians are making choices to visit this great country, spend time here with their family, with their friends. They're making choices to buy Canadian products," he said in a press briefing in Huntsville, Ontario on Tuesday. The discount pass contrasts with Trump ordering higher entrance fees at U.S. national parks for visitors from other countries. A Bank of Canada survey this week showed that 55% of Canadians plan to spend less money vacationing in the United States this year while 35% said they would spend more on traveling within Canada. A survey by TD Bank showed 64% of Canadians polled planned to travel within the country, mirroring an increase in domestic flight bookings. Canadian domestic tourism spending rose 4% in the first quarter this year from a year earlier, said Destination Canada, a government agency that promotes Canadian tourism. The number of flight return trips from the United States made by Canadians fell 17% in May from a year earlier, while the number of such trips made by car fell by 37% that month, according to Statistics Canada. Walter Flower, who operates whale watching tours in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, said he has been busier this year as more people exploring the UNESCO World Heritage town booked a 45-minute ocean adventure hoping to spot whales off the east coast. Divya Mohan, a communications specialist in Toronto, says she had initially planned to go to Texas this year but instead opted to explore the city of Winnipeg in Manitoba. "It just felt like the timing wasn't right... may be in the future," Mohan, 39, said of her trip in April. "Winnipeg is just one more destination in Canada to explore," Mohan said, coming away impressed with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. On the west coast in British Columbia, RVs have gained popularity, said Storm Jespersen, a regional manager at family-owned tourism firm Evergreen Hospitality Group. "This year is going to be the busiest year in our company's history across our 26 properties... it's so busy, I don't think you can even rent one (RV) very easily right now," said Jespersen. Traveling in Canada can be expensive as domestic flights to remote locations often cost more than traveling to the United States or even Europe. But travelers have found ways to do it cheaper - through road trips or by hunting for discounts. "Doing road trips or just weekend trips to a cabin nearby is a great way to switch things up without spending thousands of dollars to fly a family of four across the country and back," said Vancouver-based marketing executive Kramer Solinsky. On his list this year, Solinsky plans to visit Montreal and the east coast for the first time and is traveling to Mexico City and Osaka in Japan instead of other sun-soaked options like Florida and California. To make some remote regions in northern Canada more accessible, Air North - the airline for the northern provinces of Yukon and Northwest Territories - added more capacity and non-stop routes for the summer, betting on higher demand from what it said was "clear and growing interest among Canadians in exploring more of their own country" Air North said arrivals to Yukon rose 7.6% from January to June this year and the airline continues to see growth in demand for flights to northern Canada. Other Canadian carriers have reported similar trends: Porter Airlines increased its summer network capacity to domestic travel to 80% from 75%, while peer WestJet in May suspended nine routes between Canada and the United States citing lower demand.

Volkswagen cuts 2025 guidance after $1.5 billion tariff hit in first-half
Volkswagen cuts 2025 guidance after $1.5 billion tariff hit in first-half

Reuters

time3 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Volkswagen cuts 2025 guidance after $1.5 billion tariff hit in first-half

BERLIN, July 25 (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( opens new tab reported a 1.3-billion-euro ($1.5-billion) first-half hit from tariffs and cut its full-year sales and profit margin forecasts in the German carmaker's first assessment of the damage from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Global automakers have booked billions of dollars of losses and some issued profit warnings due to U.S. import tariffs. The European industry is also facing stiffening competition from China, and domestic regulations aimed at speeding up the electric-vehicle (EV) transition. Volkswagen, Europe's biggest carmaker, now expects this year's operating profit margin between 4% and 5%, compared with a previously forecast 5.5-6.5% range. Full-year sales, earlier forecast to rise by up to 5%, are expected to be level with the previous year. Volkswagen shares dropped after market open on Friday by as much as 4.6%, before paring their losses and turning positive as the day progressed. They were up 2.5% by mid-morning. Investors had largely anticipated a guidance cut, after the company held off on assessing the damage of tariffs in the previous quarter. CEO Oliver Blume told investors the company must intensify its cost-cutting efforts in response to the tariffs. "We need to shift our cost efforts into high gear and accelerate implementation. After all, we cannot assume that the tariff situation is only temporary," Blume said. Volkswagen and its competitors are pressing European trade negotiators to strike a deal to reduce a 25% punitive tariff they have faced since April. EU diplomats have indicated that the bloc could be moving towards a broad 15% tariff as it seeks to avoid a 30% levy from August 1. A deal struck between the U.S. and Japan earlier this week raised hopes for a similar agreement for Europe, boosting carmakers' shares. Volkswagen finance chief Arno Antlitz said the company's profit margin would roughly land in the middle of its guidance with a Japan-style deal, which had a 15% tariff rate. He warned, however, that the clock was ticking on finding a deal. "We are already in July, so the longer we go into the second half of the year, the more we tend to the lower end of the guidance," he said. Antlitz declined to comment on price increases when pressed by investors on how the company planned to protect its margins against the tariffs. Volkswagen reported an operating profit of 3.8 billion euros in the quarter ended June 30, down 29% on the previous year, citing tariffs and restructuring costs, as well as higher sales of lower-margin all-electric models. While Volkswagen was able to boost deliveries globally by 1.5% in the first six months of 2025, the group saw a decline of almost 10% in deliveries to the U.S. North America sales revenue accounted for 18.5% of the carmaker's global sales in the first-half. Car sales data for June underpinned a broader slowdown in Europe's struggling auto sector - and showed Volkswagen among the laggards as the company undergoes a major overhaul to cut over 35,000 jobs by the end of the decade. Volkswagen Group includes VW's core-brand passenger cars as well as luxury brands Porsche (P911_p.DE), opens new tab and Audi, which are particularly exposed to Trump's tariffs given they have no production in the U.S. and rely heavily on exports. ($1 = 0.8515 euros)

US stock futures pause after record S&P 500, Nasdaq run
US stock futures pause after record S&P 500, Nasdaq run

Reuters

time3 minutes ago

  • Reuters

US stock futures pause after record S&P 500, Nasdaq run

July 25 (Reuters) - Wall Street futures held steady on Friday as investors took a breather following record closes for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq in the previous session and awaited clarity on trade negotiations ahead of next week's tariff deadline. At 05:41 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis rose 61 points, or 0.14%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 5.75 points, or 0.09%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 1.75 points, or 0.01%. The blue-chip Dow fell 0.7% in Thursday's session, but remained close to its all-time high, last hit in December. All three major indexes were on track to end the week on a positive note as recent trade deals between the United States and its trading partners including Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines helped propel markets to new highs. An agreement with the European Union was in the pipeline, while talks with South Korea were underway as next week's August 1 deadline for many countries looms, with investors hoping that steep U.S. import levies could be averted. The recent climb to a series of record highs was also aided by upbeat second-quarter earnings. Of the 152 companies in the S&P 500 that reported earnings as of Thursday, 80.3% reported above analyst expectations, according to data compiled by LSEG. However, there were a few setbacks this week from heavyweights such as Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, with CEO Elon Musk warning of rough quarters ahead in the wake of shrinking U.S. government subsidies for EVs. Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab dropped 6% in premarket trading on Friday after the chipmaker forecast steeper third-quarter losses than Wall Street had estimated and announced plans to slash jobs. Next week will feature the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting, with broader market bets pointing to a "hold" verdict by policymakers as they continue to assess the impact of tariffs on inflation. U.S. President Donald Trump - a staunch critic of Fed Chair Jerome Powell - made a rare presidential visit to the central bank's headquarters on Thursday, where he criticized its $2.5-billion renovation project. This marked another escalation in Trump's efforts to pressure Powell into cutting interest rates. The president has often mused in the past about firing the top policymaker and replacing him with someone more willing to cut borrowing costs. According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders are pricing in a 58.6% chance of a reduction in September. Among other stocks, Newmont (NEM.N), opens new tab added 2% after the gold miner surpassed Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit. Meanwhile, Paramount Global (PARA.O), opens new tab rose 2% after U.S. regulators approved its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store