The Ukraine Hoax: Impeachment, Biden Cash, and Mass Murder
The Ukraine Hoax: Impeachment, Biden Cash, and Mass Murder is a 2020 propaganda film promoting the Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory.[1] Several news outlets have suggested[2] that this documentary was propaganda produced by Russian intelligence agents Konstantin Kilimnik[a] and Andrii Derkach,[6] an inference made after a declassified US intelligence report[7] stated that a "documentary that aired on a US television network in late January 2020"[1] was Russian propaganda[8] but did not specify the network or documentary.[9][10]
The film was made by Michael Caputo, a former Trump advisor who had served as the spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, and co-produced by Sergey Petrushin, who is a Russian living in Miami and a close associate of Caputo for over 25 years. Purporting to "expose Biden-Obama corruption" related to Ukraine, it aired at the same time Donald Trump was facing a Senate impeachment trial for withholding military aid from Ukraine while pressuring the country to launch criminal investigations targeting the Bidens.[1][11] Andrii Derkach, who is a member of the Russian intelligence community, and Andrii Telizhenko, who is a close associate of Rudy Giuliani, supported Caputo and Petrushin on the documentary. The film aired on the One America News Network (OANN) on 21 January 2020, only two weeks before the Senate's acquittal of Donald Trump.[1][2][7][9][12][13]
Notes
- ^ Konstantin Kilimnik is an associate of Paul Manafort who described Kilimnik as Manafort's "Russian Brain".[3][4][5]
References
- ^ a b c d Vicens, AJ; Friedman, Dan (March 16, 2021). "Russia Worked to Boost Trump in 2020—With Help From Giuliani, Fox News, and OANN: A US intelligence report also reveals Iranian meddling and Chinese consideration of similar efforts". Mother Jones. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ a b Eckel, Mike (March 17, 2021). "Five Things To Know About The U.S. Intelligence Report On Russian Election Interference". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ Foer, Franklin (December 9, 2018). "The Mysterious Return of Manafort's 'Russian Brain': Mueller says that the former Trump campaign chairman repeatedly lied about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a man with ties to Russian intelligence". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ Maza, Cristina (January 16, 2019). "Paul Manafort's "Russian Brain," Konstantin Kilimnik, Is a Key Part of Robert Mueller's Russia Investigation, Court Documents Reveal". Newsweek. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ Desiderio, Andrew; Cheney, Kyle; Matishak, Martin (August 18, 2020). "Manafort was 'grave counterintelligence threat' due to Russian contacts, Senate panel says: The Senate panel report says Manafort worked with a Russian intelligence officer who may have been involved in the DNC hack". Politico. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ Levai, Eric (March 17, 2021). "OAN busted for airing anti-Biden documentary made by Russian spies: The network has a fraught relationship with the truth and the 2020 election". The Daily Dot. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ a b "Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections" (PDF). United States National Intelligence Council (NIC). March 10, 2021. p. 3. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ "U.S intelligence agencies: Russia tried to help Trump; China didn't try to help Biden". NBC News. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Stone, Ken (March 17, 2021). "San Diego's OAN Had Role in Russian Efforts to Sway Election, Intelligence Report Hints". Times of San Diego. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ "Russian-backed 'influence' operations laundered anti-Biden narratives through Trump officials and US media, intel report says". The Independent. March 17, 2021. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Russian proxies 'helped produce a documentary that aired on a US television network' last year, intelligence report says". Business Insider. March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ Stedman, Scott; Bernardini, Matt (April 30, 2021). "Giuliani Probe Expands, Ukrainian Ally Under Criminal Investigation: Former Ukrainian politician Andrii Artemenko received a secret payment in 2019 from a television station owned by Putin's closest ally in Ukraine. The FBI is now investigating the Giuliani ally". Forensic News. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ^ Dilanian, Ken (March 16, 2021). "Russia tried to help Trump in 2020, Iran tried to hurt him and China stayed out of it, says new report: A newly declassified intelligence community assessment also says no foreign actor hacked into the U.S. voting infrastructure, meaning machines or data". NBC News. Retrieved February 24, 2022.