Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and other commentators respond to allegations they were paid by a Kremlin-backed media company

On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced an indictment against two Russian nationals, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, who work for Russia Today and who federal investigators believed used a Tennessee-based media company to funnel money to right-wing commentators. When announcing the changes, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the two Russian nations established a “$10 million scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.” The indictment also states that although “the views expressed in the videos are not uniform,” investigators found that “the subject matter and content of the videos are often consistent with the Government of Russia’s interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Government of Russia interests, such as its ongoing war in Ukraine.”

Investigating by CNN confirmed that the company listed in the unsealed indictment, referred to as Company 1 within the document, is Tenent Media, whose commentator line-up includes Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, and other right-wing media personalities. CNN’s work was made easy since Tenent Media’s description of their content posted on the website matches the description detailed in the indictment: “[Tenent Media] is a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.”

How have the commentators responded?

The indictment highlights six commentators the company hired to create content; nearly all have already responded to the allegations.

Benny Johnson, known for his YouTube videos, said that he was “disturbed” by the news and stated that his “standard, arms-length deal” that had been negotiated by his lawyers and those of the company was “terminated.” However, a video of an interview Johnson hosted with Donald Trump ally Tim Murtagh was posted on Tenent Media’s YouTube channel the same day the indictment was released.

Dave Rubin, the RubinReport across social media, said that the indictment clearly shows that he and the others “were the victims of [the] scheme” set up by Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva. Based on the sections highlighted in the indictment by Rubin, some suggest that he is Commentator-1, which would also mean Tenent Media paid him $5 million a year.

The indictment also states that another commentator was paid $100,000 a week for their content.

Tim Pool, another right-wing podcaster popular on YouTube, also responded, repeating some of the talking points offered by Rubin. “Should these allegations prove true, I, as well as the other personalities and commentators, were deceived and are victims,” posted Pool on X.

Taylor Hansen’s Tenent profile reads that he “took an interest in video reporting during the civil unrest of 2020 where he extensively documented riots, eventually leading to the documentation of January 6th and the shooting of Ashli Babbitt.” In his response, he said that he maintained editorial control over his content, which is likely true and does not undermine the point made by investigators that it favors the Kremlin’s interests. When connections of this nature are often unveiled, one images a puppetmaster controlling a set of people. In this case, it appears that there was a mutual interest by the commentators and the Russian government that did not require much pupeterring at all.

Matt Christiansen, host of The Matt and Blonde Show, is another commentator on Tenent Media’s payroll. He addressed the allegations during a livestream after they surfaced on Wednesday night.

Lauren Southern, who has around 740,000 subscribers on YouTube, has yet to respond to the indictment. As the only woman of the group, Southern is easy to identify in the indictment as Commentator-4.