The company that runs the U.S. version of RT, the Russian state-owned outlet originally known as Russia Today, must register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent, signaling that all of their content would be labeled as propaganda from Moscow.

In a report Monday, RT did not name the company that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has compelled to file paperwork under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, but blasted the edict as overreaching.

"The war the US establishment wages with our journalists is dedicated to all the starry-eyed idealists who still believe in freedom of speech. Those who invented it, have buried it,” Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor-in-chief, said about the registration.

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Media organizations have been exempted from the law, which is wide-ranging in its disclosure requirements and generally applies to political consultants and those working in lobbying or public relations.

It would be a felony if RT is found to have willfully failed to register as a foreign agent, however.

The registration would not stop the organization from operating, but requires regularly submitted paperwork that lists its sources of foreign government-tied revenue and the contacts it makes in the United States, and it would require any reporting to be labeled as being influenced or financed by the Russian government.

In January, RT America was singled out in a report from the U.S. intelligence community about the potential impact that Russia had on the 2016 presidential elections.

The report from the U.S. intelligence community called the outlet a “state-run propaganda machine” that “has positioned itself as a domestic U.S channel and has deliberately sought to obscure any legal ties to the Russian Government.”

RT has also contracted with Julian Assange, who runs WikiLeaks and is suspected of leaking internal emails from the Democratic National Committee. The intelligence report said that some employed by RT “actively collaborated with WikiLeaks” during the presidential election.

“The word 'propaganda' has a very negative connotation, but indeed, there is not a single international foreign TV channel that is doing something other than promotion of the values of the country that it is broadcasting from," Simonyan said, according to an article in Business Insider from January. “When Russia is at war, we are, of course, on Russia's side.”

RT's registration could have wide-ranging implications for similar news organizations around the world. For example, Russia could retaliate and crack down on Voice of America, a U.S. government-funded media network that operates internationally.

Sputnik, another English-language Russian government-funded news outlet, is also in the crosshairs of the Justice Department. The U.S. intelligence report describes both RT and Sputnik as conducting an “influence campaign” on behalf of the Kremlin that sought to bolster support for then-GOP candidate Donald Trump Donald John TrumpTrump awards Medal of Valor, civilian honors to responders in Dayton and El Paso shootings Texas Democrats unveil 'path to victory' plan for 2020 The Hill's 12:30 Report: Congress returns with gun violence, funding atop agenda MORE and sow opposition for the Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWarren endorses Texas Democrat Cuellar's primary challenger Ten notable Democrats who do not favor impeachment Krystal Ball: Warren's Hillary connections revealed?; Saagar Enjeti: End the wars MORE.

On Monday, Yahoo News reported that former Sputnik reporter Andrew Feinberg had a lengthy interview with the Justice Department office that handles Foreign Agents Registration Act issues.

Feinberg, who worked at The Hill in 2012, provided law enforcement with a thumb drive of thousands of internal emails and documents he had downloaded from his work computer before he was fired from his reporting job there.

Justice Department officials wanted to know about Sputnik’s “internal structure, editorial processes and funding,” he told Yahoo News.

The Foreign Agents Registration Act is a World War II-era law, enacted to thwart Nazi propaganda from coming into the United States to sway American public sentiment and U.S. policy.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working to update the law and make it much stricter, with several bills in the works.

One, sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia (Jeanne) Jeanne ShaheenTrump to hold campaign rally in New Mexico NH Democrats attack Lewandowski's lobbying ties amid Senate speculation Lewandowski predicts Trump will win by wider electoral margin in 2020 MORE (D-N.H.) and Todd Young Todd Christopher YoungCongress set for chaotic fall sprint Overnight Defense: Senate fails to override Trump veto on Saudi arms sales | Two US troops killed in Afghanistan | Senators tee up nominations, budget deal ahead of recess Senate fails to override Trump veto on Saudi arms sale MORE (R-Ind.), would increase enforcement capabilities for the office that oversees the act, located within DOJ’s National Security Division. The House has companion legislation.

Shaheen on Monday lauded the Justice Department’s efforts to probe into Sputnik’s internal structure.

“I’m very encouraged that the FBI is investigating the Sputnik news agency, which is funded by the Russian government. We can’t allow foreign agents, particularly those working on behalf of our adversaries, to skirt our laws,” Shaheen said in a statement. “Every new revelation about Russia's use of propaganda to influence the 2016 election further highlights the need for the federal government to bolster its enforcement of FARA.”</s>WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Washington's recent attacks on Russian media outlets — the broadcaster RT and Sputnik - and the Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity firm postpones efforts to rebuild a working relationship to combat terrorism, the Russian Embassy said in a statement.

"These steps only delay the prospects for restoring US-Russia cooperation and distract both countries from finding mutual solutions on issues of mutual interest, primarily the fight against global terrorism," the Embassy said on Wednesday.

Moscow perceives US actions against Russian media and the Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity firm as an effort to initiate unfair competition in the information field and software market, the statement added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in July that Moscow had repeatedly suggested they should work together with Washington to tackle cybercrime after hearing "groundless accusations" of Russia’s interference in US home affairs.

Washington recently ordered Moscow to shut down Russia's Consulate General in San Francisco and two trade missions in New York City and Washington, DC.

In July, Moscow reduced US diplomatic personnel in Russia to 455 representatives, the same number of Russian diplomatic staff in the United States at the time.</s>The stateside company that runs the U.S. version of Russia's state-owned news outlet RT must register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent.

The filing against the news agency is a strong signal that its content is considered propaganda from Russia. RT criticized the move as overreaching, according to the Hill, which cited an article from RT itself.

"The war the U.S. establishment wages with our journalists is dedicated to all the starry-eyed idealists who still believe in freedom of speech. Those who invented it, have buried it," RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said in the report, which was published Monday.

The news outlet alleges that the company that supplies services for RT America Channel in the States received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, stating it was obligated to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Passed in 1938, FARA requires those who represent the interest of foreign powers to disclose their relationship along with information about related activities and finances.

RT also claims it was being specifically targeted in a recent broadening of the act’s scope brought forth on Capitol Hill. Earlier this year, Reps. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Matthew Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a bill called the Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act, where they specifically named RT as a target.

“Foreign propaganda dressed up as a legitimate news outlet is still foreign propaganda,” Rep. Cicilline said in a June press release announcing the bipartisan bill. “In this era of social media and a 24/7 news cycle, the American people have a right to know when a hostile foreign government is sending propaganda right into their living room. This bill will help ensure that Vladimir Putin’s regime can’t spread fake news with such ease ever again.”

RT’s editor-in-chief condemned the proposed legislation, which has yet to be voted upon in Washington.

“I wonder how U.S. media outlets, which have no problems while working in Moscow, and that are not required to register as foreign agents, will treat this initiative,” Simonyan said.

RT America was first singled out in January, in a report from inside the U.S. intelligence community about the potential impact that Russia had on the 2016 presidential elections, the Hill reported.

The report referred to RT America as a “state-run propaganda machine” that “has positioned itself as a domestic U.S channel and has deliberately sought to obscure any legal ties to the Russian Government.”

Simonyan publicly balked at the report when it was released.

“The word 'propaganda' has a very negative connotation, but indeed, there is not a single international foreign TV channel that is doing something other than promotion of the values of the country that it is broadcasting from," she said, according to a Business Insider article in from January.

“When Russia is at war, we are, of course, on Russia's side.”

The report also alleges that RT contracted with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

"Russian media subsequently announced that RT had become 'the only Russian media company' to partner with WikiLeaks and had received access to 'new leaks of secret information.' RT routinely gives Assange sympathetic coverage and provides him a platform to denounce the United States," the report said.

Perry Chiaramonte is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @perrych</s>WASHINGTON — The US Department of Justice has asked Russian broadcaster RT to register its American operations as a “foreign agent,” putting fresh pressure on a major media group that Washington regards as Moscow’s propaganda arm.

RT said late Monday that the company that supplies all the services for its RT America channel was told by the Department of Justice in a letter that it is obligated to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, an act aimed at lobbyists and lawyers representing foreign political interests.

RT has received the Justice Department letter, the broadcaster’s spokeswoman Anna Belkina confirmed Tuesday.

RT is “consulting with our lawyers and are reviewing the request,” she told AFP in an email.

On its website, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan condemned the move as part of a US “war” on Russian media.

“The war the US establishment wages with our journalists is dedicated to all the starry-eyed idealists who still believe in freedom of speech. Those who invented it, have buried it,” she said.

The Moscow-based broadcaster has become a focus of the investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

RT has been singled out for its links to US President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn, the former US defense intelligence chief, was paid tens of thousands of dollars in December 2015 to attend an RT anniversary gala where he sat with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In January, a US intelligence community report on Russian election interference labelled RT “the Kremlin’s principal international propaganda outlet.”

Originally written in 1938 to blunt Nazi propaganda on the eve of World War II, the Foreign Agents Registration Act has been used to shed light on who in Washington might be working for foreign governments.

FARA specifically exempts US and foreign news organizations, and the Justice Department focus on the company that supplies services for RT might be a way around that stipulation.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the issue.

The move comes as the US government fights what it alleges is a barrage of “fake” news from Russian media and online outlets aimed at interfering in US domestic politics.

According to reports, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating Sputnik, a part of Russian news group RIA that is now operating a radio station in Washington.</s>The company that supplies all services for RT America channel, including TV production and operations, in the US, has received a letter from the US Department of Justice, claiming that the company is obligated to register under FARA due to the work it does for RT.

Adopted in 1938 to counter pro-Nazi agitation on US soil, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, exists so that “the people of the United States are informed of the source of information (propaganda) and the identity of persons attempting to influence US public opinion, policy, and laws.”

There are 401 entities in the active FARA register and include tourist boards and lobbyists, but no media outlets, which have traditionally been exempt from the legislation.

Earlier this year, a Democratic Senator and two Congressmen from both parties introduced a bill called the Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act, which would broaden the scope of FARA. They specifically named RT as a target of the law, which has not gone to a vote in either chamber.

RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan has previously commented on attempts to slap RT with the ‘foreign agent’ label.

“I wonder how US media outlets, which have no problems while working in Moscow, and that are not required to register as foreign agents, will treat this initiative,” Simonyan said last week.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The letter was received by the company against the background of discussions on a bill submitted to the House of Representatives of the US Congress to amend requirements for registration of foreign agents under the FARA. The project involves the allocation of additional powers to the US Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, to identify and prosecute organizations that “illegally” try to influence the political processes in the United States.

“The company that supplies all services for RT America channel, including TV production and operations, in the US, has received a letter from the US Department of Justice, claiming that the company is obligated to register under FARA due to the work it does for RT,” the press service said.

The news comes after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) questioned former Sputnik employee Andrew Feinberg as part of the investigation of reports that the agency allegedly acted as a Russian propaganda agency in violation of the US Foreign Agents Act (FARA). Commenting on the news, Sputnik and RT’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said that “freedom of speech is turning in its grave.”

The bill was submitted in June to the House of Representatives of the US Congress to amend requirements for registration of foreign agents under the FARA. The project involves the allocation of additional powers to the US Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, to identify and prosecute organizations that “illegally” try to influence the political processes in the United States.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia is currently deciding on what US law firm will represent Moscow's interests in court while fighting a case concerning the seizure of Russian diplomatic property in the United States, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday.

"We are currently dealing with this issue, one of the United States' large law firms will probably be recruited for these purposes," Ryabkov said, adding that the entirety of the information about what happened would be transmitted to the chosen firm.

Ryabkov indicated that Moscow was looking for a knowledgeable firm possessing a profound understanding of the US judicial system, legislation, law enforcement practices and precedents that had existed and still existed in this field. Russia hopes that whichever firm is selected will manage to ensure an effective defense of Moscow's position and a desired outcome in the case, according to the deputy foreign minister.

On September 2, the United States shut down Russia's Consulate General in San Francisco and trade missions in New York City and in Washington, DC. US officials said the move came in response to Moscow's decision in late July to reduce the number of US diplomatic staff in Russia to 455 people, the same number of diplomatic personnel Russia has in the United States.

After Russian diplomats left the diplomatic compounds, US security agents conducted searches inside the buildings. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the United States' actions constituted a violation of international law, including the Vienna convention on diplomatic and consular relations.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The letter was received by the company against the background of discussions on a bill submitted to the House of Representatives of the US Congress to amend requirements for registration of foreign agents under the FARA. The project involves the allocation of additional powers to the US Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, to identify and prosecute organizations that "illegally" try to influence the political processes in the United States.

"The company that supplies all services for RT America channel, including TV production and operations, in the US, has received a letter from the US Department of Justice, claiming that the company is obligated to register under FARA due to the work it does for RT," the press service said.

The bill was submitted in June to the House of Representatives of the US Congress to amend requirements for registration of foreign agents under the FARA. The project involves the allocation of additional powers to the US Department of Justice, which includes the FBI, to identify and prosecute organizations that "illegally" try to influence the political processes in the United States.</s>Russia plans to hire an as yet unspecified prominent U.S. law firm to represent its interests — and its diplomatic property — in court, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax on Wednesday.

“I believe that fundamental preparations of both parties are an unalienable element of any legal action and an imperative. This is what we will be doing in cooperation with an acclaimed U.S. law firm,” Ryabkov said. He also noted that the firm would be “authoritative and serious” and that the decision as to which firm, exactly, Russia will be using will be made “soon enough.”

The U.S. State Department announced Aug. 31 that Russia must close its general consulate in San Francisco, in addition to a consular annex in New York and a chancery annex in Washington, D.C. (Staff in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. followed the announcement with bonfires.)

This was after Russia, in July, ordered the United States to get its diplomatic staff down from 755 to 455 and close two compounds — which was itself a response to the U.S. seizure of two Russian compounds and expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats.

Both sides insist they are acting in the “spirit of parity.” While the United States maintains it is acting in accordance with Vienna Convention, Russia insists U.S. actions are a breach of the Vienna Convention, as well as U.S. and international law, and so plans to take the United States to court.

“We realize it would be very hard to achieve the needed and only correct decision in our favor, considering that U.S. government lawyers are shrewd and must have considered every implication before the United States took the step with their approval,” Ryabkov said in the Interfax interview.

Upping the ante, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Washington had committed “barbaric acts” on Russian territory in the United States. She did not specify what those acts were, however.

Neither the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. nor the U.S. Embassy in Moscow immediately responded to request for comment.

Also on Wednesday, Russia announced it would be taking away diplomatic parking spots for U.S. consulates in St. Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. According to Russian newspaper RBC, those spaces had been painted over with a pedestrian crossing.</s>Russia plans to hire an as yet unspecified prominent U.S. law firm to represent its interests — and its diplomatic property — in court, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax on Wednesday.

“I believe that fundamental preparations of both parties are an unalienable element of any legal action and an imperative. This is what we will be doing in cooperation with an acclaimed U.S. law firm,” Ryabkov said. He also noted that the firm would be “authoritative and serious” and that the decision as to which firm, exactly, Russia will be using will be made “soon enough.”

The U.S. State Department announced Aug. 31 that Russia must close its general consulate in San Francisco, in addition to a consular annex in New York and a chancery annex in Washington, D.C. (Staff in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. followed the announcement with bonfires.)

This was after Russia, in July, ordered the United States to get its diplomatic staff down from 755 to 455 and close two compounds — which was itself a response to the U.S. seizure of two Russian compounds and expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats.

Both sides insist they are acting in the “spirit of parity.” While the United States maintains it is acting in accordance with Vienna Convention, Russia insists U.S. actions are a breach of the Vienna Convention, as well as U.S. and international law, and so plans to take the United States to court.

“We realize it would be very hard to achieve the needed and only correct decision in our favor, considering that U.S. government lawyers are shrewd and must have considered every implication before the United States took the step with their approval,” Ryabkov said in the Interfax interview.

Upping the ante, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Washington had committed “barbaric acts” on Russian territory in the United States. She did not specify what those acts were, however.

The Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. did not immediately respond to request for comment. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow directed FP to the U.S. State Department, which said through a spokesperson, “We will not speculate on any potential Russian actions. We are confident in the legality of the actions we announced in August. As we have said, our actions brought us closer to Russia’s stated goal of parity, so there should be no need for any further actions from either side.”

Also on Wednesday, Russia announced it would be taking away diplomatic parking spots for U.S. consulates in St. Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. According to Russian newspaper RBC, those spaces had been painted over with a pedestrian crossing.

Update, Sept. 13 2017, 4:27 pm ET: This piece was updated to include comment from the U.S. State Department.
The United States Department of Justice has requested Moscow-based Russian media channel RT America to register as a foreign lobbying firm in the United States.