A former Trump advisor had his home raided by the FBI last week, in apparent retaliation for criticism of Biden’s Ukraine policy.
Russian-born Dimitri Simes claims his home in Virginia was raided by the FBI after he spoke out against “official policies” and “the deep state.” Mr Simes was not in the US at the time.
He told Sputnik News that the raid “clearly is an attempt to intimidate, not only somebody from Russia, but just anyone who goes against official policies and particularly against the deep state
“My suspicion is that instead of trying to get me to come to the United States and to interrogate me—or even to arrest me—their real purpose is to make sure that I would not come back,” said Simes.
Simes also had a bank account frozen that he uses to pay the mortgage on the property.
He claims he was not provided with any prior notification of the raid.
Simes linked the raid on his property in Huntly, to ongoing lawfare against Trump and key Trump supporters like Rudy Giuliani.
“A number of prominent Americans were subjected to searches or even put in jail, or made bankrupt,” he said.
“So, this is the way American law enforcement is working today? If somebody goes against the political mainstream, in particular against the Biden administration, the punishment may be very swift.”
Simes moved to the US from the USSR in the 1970s. He worked as an informal policy advisor for President Nixon before moving to the Center for the National Interest, where he worked for three decades.
He advised Trump’s 2016 campaign and was a person of interest in the Russia-collusion investigation headed by special counsel Robert Mueller. His name was mentioned 130 times in Mueller’s final report, but he and the Center for the National Interest were cleared of any wrongdoing.