Former Trump Advisor Says FBI Agents Raided His Home

A former Donald Trump advisor said FBI agents raided his Virginia home this week.

Dimitri Simes, a policy analyst who hasn’t been in the United States since October 2022, spoke out against the raid.

Simes, a Russian TV Channel One presenter and founder of the US-based think tank Center for the National Interest, spoke with Sputnik about the raid.

“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 to the United States. They want to block any attempt to have a Russian-American dialogue,” he told the outlet.

“Simes revealed that in addition to the FBI raid on his home in Virginia, the bank account that he uses to pay his mortgage was also frozen. Despite this series of escalatory moves, the US Department of Justice have yet to notify Simes or his lawyers about ‘what is going on and about any problems they may have with me,’” Sputnik noted.

“Simes emphasized that there was little of informational value in the house since he has been living and working in Russia since October 2022,” the outlet added.

Simes said he thinks the FBI is trying to punish him for his commentary on Russian television, which often criticizes Biden’s Ukraine policy.

“In my view, this is clearly an attempt, to frighten me, to discredit me, and to do damage to my ability to live in the United States or even visit the United States, and to do damage to my finances,” he said.

“They clearly are trying to create the situation when they’re not luring me to come to the United States to face the American justice system. But on the contrary, they’re doing everything possible to make it very difficult, or indeed impossible, for me to come to the United States. That clearly cannot be right,” he added.

‘They don’t want me back in the United States’: Dimitri K. Simes speaks out about FBI raid

“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… pic.twitter.com/AP91x1ySpZ

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) August 16, 2024

From the New York Post:

Dimitri Simes, whose name came up over 130 times in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s 2019 report into Russian interference in the presidential election, told the Rappahannock News he was out of the U.S. and wasn’t notified ahead of Tuesday’s search.

He also insisted he’s not aware of being the focus of any law-enforcement investigation.

The Russian-born policy analyst advised Trump’s 2016 campaign.

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,” he later told the Russian government-owned Sputnik News.

FBI raided Rappahannock County property owned by Dimitri Simes, who is currently in Russia.

https://t.co/YzDkbxhkPE via @rappnews

— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) August 15, 2024

Per Sputnik:

Sputnik: It is obvious that you didn’t do anything legally wrong. So you are being punished for your opinions. What will be your next steps in this situation? Does it make sense to resist, to seek the defense of the law?

Dimitri K Simes: Well, let me start by saying that I do not know what I am being charged with. I don’t even know if I am being charged with anything. Is it the FBI [pursuing me], or am I charged by the Department of Justice or any other US government agency? They did not notify me or my lawyers about what is going on, or about any problems they may have with me.

The only comment we have from them so far is a comment they made to a local paper in Rappahannock County where the house is located and they told the paper that, indeed, they’re conducting a law enforcement investigation, and they are not in a position to say anything more because the investigation is not complete. This is the fourth day of their operations in the house already. We’re being told that they’re moving things out of the house. What are they doing? Which things are they moving? I have no idea. It is suffice to say that I was not in the house. I have not been to the United States since October 2022. So there is absolutely nothing that can be there that is connected to my current professional life or my other activities.

It was reported to me by the neighbors, who were not on my territory themselves, but who observed it from the outside, that there was quite a crowd [during the raid]. About 40 people, perhaps more. And, what was remarkable, many, even most of them, have arrived in private cars, which obviously is against the rules.

Normally you would not have an FBI agent arrive at a [facility] he or she is going to search in a private car. Because if they use private cars, these FBI people would be very easily identified and suffer [the] consequences.

So, I really would be curious to know who these people are. These people could actually be not FBI agents, but some kind of anti-Russian Ukrainian activists. We did have a precedent before when these [so-called activists] tried to enter my property, but because they were not with the FBI, these people were stopped. That happened in the past. If needed, I obviously will defend my interests. I will do it quite aggressively, but I repeat: it will be done if needed.

There were a lot of fairly good paintings. Some of them belonged to my late parents. These were gifts from prominent Russian avant-garde artists. And, obviously, if they were taking them during the search, I would consider it theft. Well, if they just took the paintings for examination, I think it would be totally inappropriate and unnecessary. But if they would try to keep the paintings, most definitely it would be theft, in my view.

As for my bank accounts, it’s an interesting story. They froze my accounts last night but today one of these accounts, which I use to receive my Social Security pension, was, unfrozen. So, I can receive my small Social Security pension. But my main account, which I use to pay for my activities in the United States, the most important account for my family, it stayed frozen. I use it to pay my mortgage.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.