The Manchurian Media Outlet?

On Wednesday,  the Department of Justice charged two Russian nationals with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) for their involvement in a $10 million scheme to produce content with “hidden Russian government messaging” through Tennessee-based Tenet Media, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland. The duo were employees of Russia Today, a state-controlled media outlet, who concealed their identities and worked for Tenet under aliases, managing social media channels and performing editorial work.

Tenet Media was founded by conservative personality Lauren Chen and her husband, Liam Donovan. Chen indicates on Twitter that she lives in Nashville. The company maintains a roster of talent including very popular conservative influencers, such as Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Lauren Southern, and Dave Rubin.

It’s not clear whether Chen and Donovan knew they were taking money directly from RT, but the DOJ’s release indicates that the FBI is investigating the situation; it also notes that Tenet did not disclose to its viewers its funding source and that neither Chen nor Donovan was registered as a foreign agent, meaning that if they knowingly took money from RT, they could be in hot water as well. RT delivered the financing through shell companies in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Mauritius.

Chen has not made a public statement, but Pool, Rubin, and Johnson have all claimed to be victims of the scheme, and that their agreements with Tenet didn’t require them to relinquish editorial control. Pool stated yesterday that the FBI has reached out to him as a “potential victim of a crime.”

This whole debacle has obviously kicked up a lot of dust and reinvigorated “Russian collusion” theories. The AP published a story on the matter using an image of Trump as the cover photo. This, despite the ringleader of the scheme being anti-Trump, and Putin’s recent statement that he supports a Harris presidency due to the harsh sanctions Turmp imposed on the country during his time as President. If the Russians invested $10 million without gaining any editorial control over the content Tenet’s roster produced, it seems like they just lit a bunch of money on fire. DAVIS HUNT

👨‍⚖️ 1-800-NoLawyerForYou A recent audit of the Tennessee Court System reveals a lack of qualified attorneys willing to accept cases for indigent representation. Though those who can’t afford legal services are constitutionally entitled to counsel, 84 percent of judges and 80 percent of private attorneys surveyed were concerned about the state's compensation structure.

“Many attorneys cannot afford to take indigent cases, fewer attorneys are seeking these appointments, and, as a result, the court system is struggling to find enough attorneys,” reads the document. The lack of attorneys accepting needy clients has spread the few able to work pro bono thin, resulting in inadequate representation.

The comptroller’s office found that in FY 2015, courts across the state were inconsistent in applying new compensation rules imposed by the Supreme Court and state law. Likewise, in both 2015 and 2017, courts came up short when assessing and collecting administrative fees from indigent defendants. 

As the problem continued to worsen, during FY 2018-2019, the state only approved $9.7 million of the total $20.3 million budget requested to cover costs for the Indigent Representation Program. That being said, it's safe for Tennesseans to assume legislators may use this recent audit as a guide during budget season in January. MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

☢️ Going Nuclear Governor Lee took another stride in establishing Tennessee as the country’s nuclear energy leader. During a press conference on Wednesday, he announced that the Maryland-based Orano USA chose Oak Ridge as their preferred site to construct a new centrifuge uranium enrichment facility. 

Orano is the second company to tap into the governor’s Nuclear Energy Fund, a program set up to incentivize nuclear energy businesses to relocate or expand in Tennessee. Established within last year’s budget, the $50 million fund supports universities and research institutions in furthering nuclear education programs. An additional $10 million was appropriated in the state’s budget in FY 2024-2025. MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

📸 LPRs Still Up For Discussion This morning, Mayor O’Connell said he expects the council will make a few final adjustments to the citywide LPR program before the end of the year. “One of the reasons we wanted to engage with some of the groups that had raised concerns…was to see if we wanted to refine some of the policy,” he explained.

When a reporter from Fox17 asked for specific examples of profiling or difficulties with MNPD’s implementation of the program, the mayor relayed an incident that took place during last year's LPR pilot run.

“A non-native English speaker had acquired a car out of state,” he said. “But in an unfortunately common occurrence, the car dealer reported the car as stolen, even though it was legally purchased.” 

The car was identified by one of Metro’s 117 cameras and stopped by local police, an incident O’Connell called an “unintended consequence of license plate readers.” MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

✸ HIGHWAY CLOSURE THIS WEEKEND

DEVELOPMENT

• River North Announces 19,000+ SF Of Committed Retail In East Bank Nashville (Now Next)
• New images released for Nashville Yards residential tower (Post)

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.

TONIGHT

🎸 First Fridays @ The Underdog, 6p, $5, Info

🪕 Nick Chandler & Delivered @ Station Inn, 9p, $25, Info

🎸 The Red Clay Strays @ Ryman Auditorium, 7p, $25+, Info

🎸 Musicians Corner @ Centennial Park, 5p, Free, Info
+ feat. Dean Johnson, Drumming Bird, Birdtalker and more

🪕 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info

🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

✹ WEEKLY FILM RUNDOWN: September 6-12

The latest releases and special screenings hitting Music City this week. For a complete list of upcoming releases, check out our 2024 Film Guide.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Dir. Tim Burton; Starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega) The wisecracking ghoul returns from a 36-year hiatus to wreak havoc on Winona Ryder’s Goth trendsetter and her teenage daughter in a sequel that rings in the Halloween season with a gusto only Tim Burton could manage. Read our review here. Now playing in theaters. 

Eno (Dir. Gary Hurstwit) Any documentary about the iconic Roxy Music frontman and Talking Heads/U2 producer would be a must-see. But, director Gary Hustwit upped the ante by helming the world’s first generative movie that–much like an Eno show–never replicates itself. Using software developed specifically for the project, Hustwit gives Eno’s life the “Choose Your Own Adventure Treatment” with millions of possibilities. Those of us who saw it at The Belcourt this summer had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Now, everyone else can. Now playing at the Belcourt. 

Close Your Eyes (Dir. Victor Erice; Starring Jose Coronado and Mono Solo) The writer/director of Franco regime Spanish classic The Spirit of the Beehive interrupts his long break from filmmaking for a spiritual sequel to that arthouse classic about the daughter of an actor lost at sea who tries to stop the press from exploiting images from his last film. Playing through Wednesday at The Belcourt. 

The Front Room (Dir. Max Eggers; Starring Brandy Norwood) Former teen R&B senesation Brandy plays a pregnant woman facing off against her demonic mother-in-law in A24’s latest horror offering. Now playing in theaters. 

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

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