U.S. sanctions Ukrainian lawmaker and Rudy Giuliani ally for involvement in 2020 election meddling

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on three Kremlin-linked individuals and a Ukrainian lawmaker Thursday for attempting to meddle in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

In a statement Thursday, Treasury described Andrii Derkach, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, as an “active Russian agent for over a decade” with close connections to Russian intelligence services.

“In the United States, Russia has used a wide range of influence methods and actors to target our electoral process, including targeting U.S. presidential candidates,” Treasury said in a statement without naming Biden or Trump. “From at least late 2019 through mid-2020, Derkach waged a covert influence campaign centered on cultivating false and unsubstantiated narratives concerning U.S. officials in the upcoming 2020 presidential election,” the statement added.

Derkach has previously worked with Rudy Giuliani to dig up damaging information on President Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, and his son Hunter. Giuliani has acted as a personal lawyer for Trump, and his efforts to get Ukraine to launch an investigation into the Bidens led to Trump’s impeachment after the president withheld military aid to Ukraine while asking for such a probe.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/10/us-sanctions-giuliani-ally-for-involvement-in-election-meddling.html