MAGA influencer Tim Pool now claims there’s ‘no actual proof’ showing he unwittingly took Russian money

Pro-Trump podcaster Tim Pool is now openly questioning whether he was actually duped by a Russian propaganda operation that paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars to post videos for a front company, claiming that the Department of Justice has shown “no actual proof” to back its allegations.

Jared Holt, a right-wing extremism researcher who co-hosts the Posting Through It podcast, sent the MAGA influencer a series of questions ahead of Monday’s episode detailing Pool’s career and evolution into a popular right-wing provocateur. Pool was explicitly asked about the DOJ’s indictment alleging two Russian state-media producers used fake personas to funnel $10 million into the video outlet Tenet Media, which hired Pool and other high-profile conservative personalities to produce content.

At the time the indictment was unsealed last September, Pool painted himself and the other Tenet creators — such as Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson and Lauren Southern — as victims who had been deceived by a nefarious plot. “Putin is a scumbag, Russia sucks donkey b*lls,” Pool tweeted in response to the allegations.

Pool would go even further in a video he posted, stating that he would assist federal law enforcement “in whatever way we can,” reiterating that he was victimized by the Kremlin if the allegations were true about Tenet Media.

Months after the Justice Department released its 32-page charging document that included messages, emails and a fake resume from the Kremlin media actors, Pool now suggests that the evidence showing that he’d unwittingly received $100,000 per week from a Russian influence operation is flimsy at best — and perhaps even false.

“The indictment includes out of context messages that are in dispute, no actual proof of said messages in fact, and claims without any corroborating hard evidence for everything else,” Pool said when reached for comment by Holt.

The Independent has reached out to Pool for comment.

Pool went on to say that the amount he was paid by Tenet was “inconsequential to me and my company,” adding that the “deal was minor” and his own Timcast company was hiring additional employees to expand its operations. “The end of the deal changed nothing in my life, company, hiring, or plans,” he stated.

“I think you’re putting too much stock into claims from the DOJ that have never been adjudicated. I’m not sure why you would assume any of it defacto ‘true,’” Pool told Holt about the indictment.

Pool, who hosts one of the highest-rated podcasts in America, has also said that the amount he was paid by Tenet was “market rate” for someone of his stature, claiming that general ad reads on his show tend to cost sponsors tens of thousands of dollars.

According to the indictment, both Rubin and Pool did inquire at one point about where the money was coming from, leading the Russians to make up “Eduard Grigoriann,” a supposed banker who was a free speech advocate.

“Grigoriann’s name was misspelled on many documents, and the influencers could find no evidence online that he worked at the real bank where he claimed to have made his money. Plus, a profile of Grigoriann created by the Russians cited his interest in “social justice” — a red flag for Rubin, according to an email sent by one of Tenet’s founders,” The Washington Post reported at the time.

“I think it may be because that’s usually a term used by liberals, but we’re trying to create a conservative network,’ Tenet’s founder wrote the Kremlin media producers, according to the indictment.

Meanwhile, Holt noted that while Pool “is correct that the government has not proven its claims in court” yet, it’s important to point out that the two Russia Today employees named in the indictment are based in Moscow. “Barring a radical change of heart by Russian President Vladimir Putin, it’s unlikely they will ever be extradited to the United States to stand trial,” Holt added.

In the end, Pool’s association with Tenet hasn’t hurt his company’s relationship with the Trump administration, at the very least. Last week, a Timcast staffer was added to the White House press pool.