Earlier this month, FBI agents conducted searches at the homes of former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter and journalist Dimitri Simes. However, prosecutors have not revealed any criminal charges against the two men.
Investigators are expected to conduct more searches soon, and prosecutors could also bring criminal charges, the report said.
The Biden administration has alleged that Russian state news organizations are working with the country’s intelligence agencies to influence elections worldwide.
The investigations have focused on possible violations of the sanctions regime imposed on Russia and a law mandating the disclosure of foreign government lobbying efforts, the report said.
Ritter said that he believes the search of his home was an "act of intimidation" triggered by his cooperation with Russian news organizations like Sputnik and RT. Ritter said that he has not committed any crimes and denied accusations that he is acting as a foreign agent.
Ritter told Sputnik that his passport was likely confiscated by authorities in connection with the FBI investigation.
Simes told Sputnik that he was not notified in advance of the search of his property and that he has not been in the United States since October 2022. Consequently, there is nothing at the property related to his current life and activities, he said.
Simes also said that the US government is possibly attempting to dissuade him from coming back to the United States and block any attempt to have a Russian-American dialogue.
The New York Times, however, acknowledged that such an investigation targeting US citizens could "bump up against the First Amendment’s protection of rights to free speech."
The Department of Justice refused to comment on the reports about the investigation.
“We will decline to comment,” the Department said.