How Putin funneled $millions to Mitch, Lindsey, and other GOP quislings

[Tanuki]

This was published previously in the Dallas Morning News but I think it deserves to resurface now, as it is increasingly relevant.

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/how-putin-s-oligarchs-funneled-millions-into-gop-campaigns/

"Buried in the campaign finance reports available to the public are some troubling connections between a group of wealthy donors with ties to Russia and their political contributions to President Donald Trump and a number of top Republican leaders. And thanks to changes in campaign finance laws, the political contributions are legal. We have allowed our campaign finance laws to become a strategic threat to our country.
.....


Data from the Federal Election Commission show that Blavatnik's campaign contributions dating back to 2009-10 were fairly balanced across party lines and relatively modest for a billionaire. During that season he contributed $53,400. His contributions increased to $135,552 in 2011-12 and to $273,600 in 2013-14, still bipartisan.

In 2015-16, everything changed. Blavatnik's political contributions soared and made a hard right turn as he pumped $6.35 million into GOP political action committees, with millions of dollars going to top Republican leaders including Sens. Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham.
....

McConnell surely knew as a participant in high level intelligence briefings in 2016 that our electoral process was under attack by the Russians. Two weeks after the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint statement in October 2016 that the Russian government had directed the effort to interfere in our electoral process, McConnell's PAC accepted a $1 million donation from Blavatnik's AI-Altep Holdings. The PAC took another $1 million from Blavatnik's AI-Altep Holdings on March 30, 2017, just 10 days after former FBI Director James Comey publicly testified before the House Intelligence Committee about Russia's interference in the election.

And consider Steve Mnuchin, Trump's campaign finance chairman. Could he have known that the Trump Victory Fund, jointly managed by the Republican National Committe and Trump's campaign, took contributions from Intrater and Kukes? Mnuchin owned Hollywood financing company RatPac-Dune with Blavatnik until he sold his stake to accept Trump's appointment as the Treasury secretary."....(more at link)


(Ruth May is a business professor at the University of Dallas and an expert on the economies of Russia and Ukraine. She wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News. Twitter: @ruthcmay)

[GusBob]

1. Shorter headline

How Putin bribed the jury

[Pachamama]

11. +10000

Good change - more accurate

[erronis]

15. I like the original. Good use of "quisling" to refer to (r)epuglicons.

[Ferrets are Cool]

30. Or "How Putin bought a Country."

[pwb]

2. Yep they are caught. They all cant help it. Republicans always overstep, always.

We have a whole year of nasty stufff coming out against many many pukes.

[mnhtnbb]

25. It's due to their greed and love of money.

[mitch96]

26. Politicians alway cry that they can't get anything done 'cause they have to raise money

For reelection.
Some say 50% or more time spent on the phone begging for cash Now if some "kind" oligarch wants to give you some cash so you can have time to sink the competition ..... ?Qud pro quo?
Another point for term limits... Do your job in Washington and not waste time begging for money..
YMMV
m

[Botany]

3. They are almost all dirty w/Russian money

Last edited Sat Dec 14, 2019, 11:39 AM - Edit history (1)

This is one reason why "they" are fighting so hard to protect Trump because
if the American people could see how dirty they are it would be a firestorm.
Except for the 25% base of evangelical/bigots/dumb fucks who will always
support Trump.

[abqtommy]

5. They were filthy without money, now they're filthy with money. (hat tip to the 3 Stooges)

[Botany]

13. "They" also know that any kind of investigation will show that Russia installed Trump and that ...

Last edited Sat Dec 14, 2019, 01:21 PM - Edit history (1)

... the voting systems are dirty too.

Vlad knew what he was doing getting some many of "them" dirty with Russian money
and or kompramat (Lindsey Graham I'm looking @ you). My own Senator, Rob Portman,
got tons of Russian money through the NRA and lots of dark money (Russia? Koch Brothers?)
in 2016. I would get emails from him in which @ first he called it "alleged Russian meddling"
in the 2016 elections but when the proof was all over the place Rob is now saying yes,
the Russians meddled in the elections but it didn't change the outcome.

[Scarsdale]

19. RNC?

Russia's New Comrades?

[Dustlawyer]

21. The MSM never really followed up on the RNC hack since those emails were never leaked.

How much has this leverage played a part on the Republicans abandonment of Democracy? I believe it has been a carrot and stick approach by Putin over the Republicans. (Putin) Here is some money to do what we want and keep you elected, but if you think of changing your mind we will release your emails!

[cilla4progress]

20. My theory precisely,

cult theory only goes sonfar. Covering their own backsides matters more to them.

Follow the money (in our filthy corrupt capitalist society) and all roads lead to Putin.

[OhNo-Really]

4. Excellent. I was going to answer "7 Ways to Sunday"

[FM123]

6. This Dallas News story is a must read for anyone who has never read it, and one to read again

for those who have. I believe they have updated it a few times since 2017 to include newer info, but it's all there. It is like one of those crazy walls of post-it notes & clues at a police station - it shows all the crimes and how they are connected. The GOP really is the party of Putin.

[Kid Berwyn]

7. Gee. Corrupt oligarchs in need of ways to launder ill-gotten billions...

...financing the ultra conservative GOP — the most regressive crazies in the USA — out of the kindness of their hearts.

And thanks to Citizens United, all legal like.

I had wondered why they all sang out “No Quid Pro Quo” in unison when asked recently in a related matter.

[Cracklin Charlie]

8. Let's don't leave out the Granny Starver.

Paul Ryan was right there passin out rubles like they was Halloween candy!

No treasoners left behind!

[2naSalit]

28. ++++++++++++++++++++!!!

[eppur_se_muova]

9. Bookmarking the article to send to friends and relatives. nt

[Pachamama]

10. Very important info in a story that is a must read

[dalton99a]

12. A timely reminder

[Thekaspervote]

14. Very important that this continues to be published... thx

[DallasNE]

16. "We have allowed our campaign finance laws..."

Who is "we" and how have we "allowed" these changes? Do they mean changes imposed by Citizens United? We need a discussion about this because this really looks like a Supreme Court problem with the bizarre right wing decisions, such as Citizens United and Hobby Lobby, that SCOTUS now hands down regularly. The consequences are disastrous.

[Baitball Blogger]

17. Citizen's United.

Does it really give foreign nations the right to bribe our candidates? Money isn't free speech. Money is privileged access.

[Bayard]

18. This evidence will never see the light of day in the Senate impeachment trial

Don't confuse rethugs with facts.

[usaf-vet]

22. Stop telling us about all this foreign Russian money flowing into our elections

IT CAN'T be happening, remember justice Sam Alito said Obama was lying when he chastised the SCOTUS during the SOTU for passing Citizen United. Obama said clearly that it was going to open the door to illegal foreign money.

Two possibilities. One Alito is stupid and doesn't deserve to be on the SCOTUS or two he was lying and knew it at the time and surely knows it now.

I'll stick with LYING!!

[alwaysinasnit]

23. K&R Thanks for posting.

[C Moon]

24. Stiff penalties for these traitor bastards. That's the only way to stop this.

I don't give a damn if we hang them. They are attempting to sell our constitution to Russian billionaires.

[duforsure]

27. While republicans in Congress vote

To give a president more powers over Congress and judges , and can then ignore them both , and go after them to weaken them more to have absolute power, for putin. All republicans who received funneled russian money and election help should be forced to recuse , then resign, or face prosecution. This will be a lot worse if they allow him these extra powers for our country and its future. All while trump and Moscow Mitch quickly pack the courts to weaken others with it.

[Blima]

29. Russia is electing Republicans

And that's not good.

[bucolic_frolic]

31. Spycraft would call this "inside out"

imploding the existing functions and loyalties into the exact opposite their creators intended. It's a game of double agents, but even better if you can install lackeys who serve foreign masters rather than America. The pattern of behavior and cash flows leave little doubt about it anymore.

[GoCubsGo]

32. It sure does explain a lot, doesn't it?

Although, I do believe that Putin has loads of other kompromat and these individuals, as well as on numerous other members of their crime syndicate...errrrrr...I mean party.

[Kid Berwyn]

33. Moscow Mitch, the Guardian of Oligarchs & Putin

From the article in OP:

McConnell surely knew as a participant in high level intelligence briefings in 2016 that our electoral process was under attack by the Russians. Two weeks after the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint statement in October 2016 that the Russian government had directed the effort to interfere in our electoral process, McConnell's PAC accepted a $1 million donation from Blavatnik's AI-Altep Holdings. The PAC took another $1 million from Blavatnik's AI-Altep Holdings on March 30, 2017, just 10 days after former FBI Director James Comey publicly testified before the House Intelligence Committee about Russia's interference in the election.

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/how-putin-s-oligarchs-funneled-millions-into-gop-campaigns/