Darren Beattie, acting undersecretary for public diplomacy at the State Department, is married to a Russian woman who has alleged links to the Kremlin—according to Benedict Smith in The Telegraph. Smith reported that Yulia Kirillova is the niece of Russian oligarch and “drinks magnate” Sergei Chernikov.
Ms. Kirillova, who according to her Facebook page was educated in Moscow before studying abroad in Canada and Washington D.C., 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.
via Benedict Smith, The Telegraph
Chernikov apparently helped Putin win elections and reportedly received a thank-you note from the Russian president himself.
Kirillova strenuously denied any Kremlin connections, according to The Times, calling the accusations “malicious smears.”
In addition to disbanding a key group inside State Department (known as Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference hub) implemented by the Obama Administration to counter Russia propaganda, Beattie also embarked earlier this year on a Twitter Files-type project tasked with proving a conspiracy to silence conservatives in government.
Beattie has also posted pro-Putin propaganda in various social-media forums. He was let go from Trump’s first administration when it was revealed he attended a white-nationalist conference featuring Richard Spencer.
AUTHOR FOOTNOTE
I don’t get everything right, to be sure, but my Author Footnote from March apparently hit the nail on the head:
The fella who’s entire Very Online life is apparently dedicated to either posting Kremlin propaganda or bemoaning the plight of white, working-class men (see The Dispatch link in Sources) has a dodgy spouse reportedly connected to Vlad himself? Let’s get this out of the way: learning that someone inside Donald’s regime “has links to the Kremlin” and Putin is like discovering the ocean is sometimes wet. These links are already baked in the cake.
Mr. and Mrs. Beattie are getting awfully huffy in reaction to a fairly straightforward news item—almost like an over-correction.
Big picture, though, the real story is Beattie (Mister, not missus) making America a soft target for future (and perhaps ongoing/current) Kremlin rateffing.
Also note: in order to get the State Department gig Beattie had to delete past drags of Marco Rubio, which he apparently did, in order to get Rubio’s blessing.
