The Department of Justice last November forced RT, the Russian state-run media organization, to register as a foreign agent, and shortly afterwards, the Executive Committee of the Congressional Radio & Television Correspondents' Galleries pulled RT's press credentials.
RT's editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, in an interview with The Associated Press in Moscow on Friday, defended her network and explained how the DOJ's designation has had a negative impact.
Consequences have been real, Simonyan said, for RT's staffing, social media presence and commercial relationships.
"Some of the people are leaving, because it is tough for them morally to work as a foreign agent," she said. "Even a lot of our partners in the U.S. are now telling us that they either have to cancel our agreements or reconsider the agreements, the prices, the conditions of the agreements that we have had for years."
While RT considers itself "an underdog broadcaster carrying Russian views and perspectives onto the international media scene," the U.S. intelligence community considers it akin to propaganda.
They stated that RT and state-funded Russian news agency Sputnik, for which Simonyan also serves as editor-in-chief, produced biased reports to undermine faith in the election process, damage Hillary Clinton's candidacy and promote Donald Trump.
Similar accusations were leveled in a recent Democratic Party report on Russian interference and by the Atlantic Council think tank, among others. Governments in Britain, Germany and France also have complained about RT and its intentions, especially its reporting around European elections.
Simonyan continues to insist her network is beholden to the Kremlin, in spite of of evidence to the contrary.
She denies that RT is any less balanced and impartial than other news companies. "Listen, your own president thinks that your media is, almost all of it, is fake." She said Russians think all U.S. media are biased against Putin and never say anything positive about Russia's policies.
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Simonyan denied that RT is under the control of Putin or the Kremlin. She said for instance that she has never even spoken to Putin on the telephone. However, documents for the Russian leader's re-election campaign name her as one of the "trusted persons" around him supporting his candidacy.
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In her telling, RT is an autonomous non-governmental organization that has editorial independence. She haggles over its budget with the Finance Ministry before it is submitted for parliamentary approval. She brushed off a question on whether she has ever received editorial instructions from Putin or those around him.
Full story: Head of Russian outlet RT says US foreign agent order hurts (AP)