**Trump Official with Kremlin Ties Shut Down Counter-Disinformation Bureau**
A high-ranking official in the Trump administration, Darren Beattie, has been linked to the Kremlin, according to a recent report by The Telegraph. As under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs at the State Department, Beattie played a key role in dismantling the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office (R/FIMI), which was responsible for tracking and countering disinformation from Russia, China, and Iran.
**Beattie’s Ties to the Kremlin**
The Telegraph reported that Beattie is married to Yulia Kirillova, a Russian woman who has ties to the Kremlin. His wife’s uncle, Sergei Chernikov, is a former Russian official who helped Vladimir Putin win his first presidential election in 2000.
**Dismantling R/FIMI**
Beattie was instrumental in dismantling R/FIMI, which was shut down in April 2025. The office had been responsible for countering disinformation from Russia, China, and Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Beattie played a significant role in dismantling the agency.
**Concerns About Access to Classified Information**
Sources close to the matter have expressed concerns about granting Beattie access to classified materials related to Russia, raising questions about whether he had been adequately vetted. The process of vetting can take anywhere from a couple of months to over a year to complete.
**Beattie’s History and Views**
Beattie previously served in the first Trump administration but was ousted after allegedly attending a white nationalist conference in 2018. Since then, he has reinvented himself as an “alt-right media” figure and founded the news outlet Revolver. Through Revolver, Beattie has long criticized R/FIMI and promoted narratives aligned with Kremlin disinformation.
**Promoting Kremlin Narratives**
Beattie has argued that the U.S. orchestrates “color revolutions” around the world, including in Ukraine – a common narrative used in Kremlin propaganda to delegitimize pro-democracy movements as Western-backed coups. He has also written social media posts suggesting that Western institutions should be “infiltrated” by the Kremlin and attacked the so-called “globalist American empire.”
**Implications**
The Trump administration’s perceived sympathies toward Russia have been repeatedly criticized, particularly amidst a global “information war.” According to the National Endowment for Democracy, Russia spends an estimated $1.5 billion annually on disinformation and foreign influence campaigns.
As the world grapples with the challenges of disinformation and foreign influence, it is essential to scrutinize the appointments of officials like Beattie, who have ties to the Kremlin. The implications of dismantling R/FIMI and promoting narratives aligned with Kremlin disinformation are far-reaching and warrant a closer examination.
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