Need some research help please

[angrychair]

In a Twitter discussion and the idiot brought up that at republican45's speech to joint session of congress in February that Russian ambassador was guest of Dems.

I Googled using every possible syntax I can think of but every article I find is from fringe right wing sites but no mainstream sites.

Right wing nut jobs have turned his presence at that speech into a meme to attack Democrats so I'm trying to formulate a counter-point.

So my question is does anyone know if he was really there and if so why?

My suspicion is that a Democrat invited him to poke republicans with a stick but there are no trusted sources to figure that out...HELP and THANK YOU

[Cattledog]

1. Sergey Kislyak was there, don't know who invited him.

But he did sit near the front.

[angrychair]

2. Yea, I dug up the pics in my research too

Just trying to get to the "why" as I need something to knock the smug electronic smile off this person's face as republicans have turned his presence at that speech into a meme to attack Democrats.

[Donkees]

7. Why? Foreign Ambassadors attend as part of the Diplomatic Corps, and have reserved seating ...

'The Cabinet, Supreme Court justices, members of the Diplomatic Corps, and Joint Chiefs have reserved seating.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Union

[angrychair]

8. That is in reference to our government

Not members of a foreign government.
The meme is that he was an invited guest of Democrats, meaning it's the "Dems are doing it too" meme...I'm trying to get to the root of actually "why"!to counter and disprove the meme.

[Donkees]

10. 'Congress has welcomed foreign ambassadors to attend its floor activities since at least the 1840s

Congress has welcomed foreign ambassadors to attend its floor activities since at least the 1840s. In fact, when the House and Senate chambers were built in the 1850s, they included Diplomatic Galleries for foreign ambassadors to observe the events.

As such, the diplomatic corps has long served as essentially the eyes and ears of the world in the chamber.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2013/02/12/fun-facts-about-the-state-of-the-union-address/


Foreign ambassadors to the US

[Donkees]

11. ''What Does a Chief of Protocol Do?''

March 15, 2012


Excerpt:

The State of the Union address is one of the events to which the entire diplomatic corps is invited. How do you put that together, and how did the most recent address go?

The last State of the Union address saw the largest gathering to date. We had about 158 people in attendance. That’s partly because we’ve credentialed so many news ambassadors since the last address. [Find more on the credentialing process here.] And I think people were really excited to hear what the President had to say. And you have the opportunity to be on the floor of the House of Representatives and hear it live.

The diplomats start the evening by gathering on the eighth floor of the State Department for a light buffet dinner, because it will be a long evening. They can engage with each other. Generally they separate out into regions, and we seek out opportunities for them to come together as much as possible.

After they’ve had a bit to eat, everyone boards buses to the Capitol, escorted by diplomatic security and the Secret Service, and they pull right up to the steps. Then we’re escorted into the Capitol to a holding room.

How do they proceed into the House chamber before the speech begins?

The diplomatic corps is escorted in and seated. And then the dean of the diplomatic corps, the ambassador from Djibouti, is announced, and I escort him to his seat. Then the Supreme Court follows, then the Cabinet, and then the President.
Outside of formal events, how does your office interact with the ambassadors while they’re in Washington?

Today’s ambassador could be his or her country’s next foreign minister, or the prime minister. We want to create and solidify relationships with them while they’re here. We want them to know more about who we are as Americans, the goals of the administration, and how they can connect with the top levels of the administration, as well as the business community and nongovernmental organizations. And how we exchange cultures.

https://www.washingtonian.com/2012/03/15/what-does-a-chief-of-protocol-do/

[pkdu]

3. I think you are right - as a finger in the eye to 45 but

he is the reason Flynn got fired , and the reason Kushner lied on Security Clearance forms.

Thats whats important.

[synergie]

4. If that's their assertion, it's up to them to back it up.

[Quackers]

5. Here's a NYTimes article on him, some of his meetings, and people that he associated himself with.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/world/europe/sergey-kislyak-russian-ambassador.html?_r=0

[angrychair]

6. Than you for looking

I came across that article too. No one appears to have noted his presence at speech but right wing press.

Being able to figure out who's guest he was would shed some light I hope...I'm still looking

[LeftInTX]

9. I saw that meme and would like to know too...

I couldn't find an answer....

[Hortensis]

12. No hard info, but running it through my "bag of knowledge"

and cognitive filter says it's 99.999% sure to be one of their typical kool-aid delusions, the ones they swallow greedily in order to be able to deny their own leaders' behavior.

I mean, in THIS environment, WOULD Democrats invite the Russian ambassador when they could just sit back and let the Republicans continue winding the rope around their own party's neck?
The answer is a big "of course not," btw.

[uponit7771]

13. Russians helped Benedict Donald not dems get elected, another false equivalency argument

[mzteaze]

14. It's probably

It could from some variation of this article:. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/02/russian-ambassador-kislyak-attended-trump-congressional-speech-tuesday-sat-with-democrats/

While the article doesn't specifically say he was there BECAUSE of (an invitation by the) Dems, it notes that he was seated with the Dems and spoke to people while there.

I wouldn't be surprised if this photo and narrative wasn't orchestrated by someone that wanted to take the heat off of 45. This photo without context makes it seem as if the Dems invited him and were doing the "same thing" the Repubs are accused of doing.