U.S. Charges American Commentator Who Works for Russian State TV

The Justice Department indicted an American commentator for Russian television on Thursday as part of a broader effort by the government to crack down on Russia’s attempts to influence American politics ahead of November’s presidential election.

Dimitri K. Simes, who was an adviser to Donald J. Trump’s first presidential campaign, and his wife, Anastasia Simes, were charged with violating economic sanctions against Russia for their work for Channel One, a state-owned television network.

The indictments come as the United States has been cracking down on Russian efforts to spread content from Russian broadcasters among American audiences, often by disguising its origins. Mr. Simes, who owns a home with his wife in Virginia but currently lives in Russia, has hosted a political talk show since 2022 on the network four nights a week on the network and another on Sundays.

Mr. Simes was an influential person in Washington for years, hosting frequent lunches at his think tank blocks from the White House. He would gather government officials, academics and journalists during the uneasy post-Cold War era. The topics often turned to issues of Russia’s relationship with the United States and NATO and Vladimir V. Putin’s ambitions to rebuild Russia.

His indictment comes a day after two employees of another Russian state broadcaster, RT, were indicted on a charge of spending nearly $10 million to have pro-Russia messages spread from a Tennessee company that created and publicized commentary from right-wing, pro-Trump influencers.

The Biden administration has been making a broad push against what it says is a concerted effort by Russia to influence the fall vote. American intelligence officials have said Russia’s president, Mr. Putin,