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An unmarked car with federal agents Wednesday evening near the entrance to 69 Twin Post Lane in Huntly, Va.

Federal agents descended on a Huntly property Tuesday and have maintained a steady presence there since.   

“The FBI conducted court-authorized law enforcement activity. We have no further comment as this is an ongoing matter,” Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Samantha Shero emailed the Rappahannock News Wednesday night in response to a request for information about the situation.

Two agents met a reporter at the gate of the property at 69 Twin Post Lane, off Hillsboro Road about 4.5 miles north of Flint Hill, Wednesday evening and confirmed the FBI was on site. A roll of yellow crime scene tape was on the ground next to the gate post. 

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Crime scene tape on the ground at the gate of the Huntly estate where FBI agents have been on scene since Tuesday.

A neighbor said numerous law enforcement officers have been going to and from the estate, named “Patria,” since Tuesday morning, at times seemingly removing items in trucks and trailers. Agents returned to the property again Thursday morning.

Rappahannock County Circuit Court records show the 132.6-acre property was sold by Katherine Krebser to Dimitri K. Simes and his wife Anastasia R. Simes for $1.63 million in July 2021. 

Dimitri Simes, 76, has been well known in the Washington, D.C., diplomatic world for decades and is considered an expert in Russian affairs. He was the longtime president and chief executive officer of the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank founded by former President Richard Nixon. Simes left the center in 2022. 

Simes had close ties to the presidential campaign and administration of former President Donald Trump. Simes was among those who figured prominently in Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe of potential Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. The report concluded that Simes did not act as an intermediary between the Trump campaign and Moscow.   

Simes co-hosts a current affairs show called “The Big Game” on Channel One, a television network controlled by the Russian government.

Reached on the phone Thursday morning, Simes told the Rappahannock News that he was out of the country and said he knew there was activity at his property but didn’t know exactly what was going on there.

“I was not officially notified of any action,” Simes said. “I have not seen a warrant. I was not contacted by any law enforcement or anyone else whatsoever.” 

“I’m puzzled and concerned,” Simes said. “I certainly will take steps to get proper information and then to take proper action.”

Simes said he is not aware that he is the focus of any law enforcement investigation.

This is a developing story

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