NASA invite to sanctioned Russian official postponed indefinitely

[DonViejo]

Source: Politico


The reversal could harm U.S.-Russia space cooperation.

By BEN SCHRECKINGER 01/05/2019 09:08 AM EST

The Trump administration has indefinitely postponed a proposed visit by a sanctioned Russian official to the U.S., a spokeswoman for NASA said on Friday.

The indefinite postponement could throw a wrench in U.S.-Russia space cooperation and represents a setback for Vladimir Putin’s efforts to undermine U.S. sanctions.

The proposed visit, which was supposed to have taken place some time early this year, faced mounting backlash this week from Senate Democrats who threatened congressional action to block it in response to a Tuesday POLITICO report about plans for the visit.

The invitation from NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine to his Russian counterpart, ultranationalist Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, to visit Houston and speak at Rice University also prompted protests from gay rights groups this week on account of Rogozin’s history of homophobic rhetoric.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/05/nasa-invite-sanctioned-russian-official-1082568

[Leghorn21]

1. YES YES

On Thursday, Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking member on the subcommittee that oversees NASA's funding, and Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking member on the foreign relations committee, threatened to block the visit by invoking a 2017 law that gives Congress greater oversight powers over the executive branch’s handling of Russian sanctions.

[saidsimplesimon]

2. Add my hell YES,

It's time to go full frontal assault on traitors to the USA. That includes anyone who takes donations from hostile foreign countries or any foreign company to fund an election campaign.

Go Democrats in Congress, words are wasted on rumpy, he needs action, rebukes and humiliation to cut off a few of his ugly Medusa heads.

I can hardly wait to elect a Democratic President in 2020.

[Sunlei]

3. The real space scientists don't need Russian mafia boss. Obama worked HARD to his last day!

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/3364/text

[[Page 131 STAT. 899]]

of the Russian Federation or nationals of the Russian Federation
that manufacture, sell, transfer, or otherwise provide certain
defense articles into Syria.
(3) On April 1, 2015, President Obama issued Executive Order
No. 13694 (80 Fed. Reg. 18077; relating to blocking the property
of certain persons engaging in significant malicious cyber-
enabled activities), which authorizes the Secretary of the
Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General and the
Secretary of State, to impose sanctions on persons determined to
be engaged in malicious cyber-hacking.
(4) On July 26, 2016, President Obama approved a
Presidential Policy Directive on United States Cyber Incident
Coordination, which states, ``certain cyber incidents that have
significant impacts on an entity, our national security, or the
broader economy require a unique approach to response efforts''.
(5) On December 29, 2016, President Obama issued an annex to
Executive Order No. 13694, which authorized sanctions on thefollowing entities and individuals:
(A) The Main Intelligence Directorate (also known as
Glavnoe Razvedyvatel'noe Upravlenie or the GRU) in
Moscow, Russian Federation.
(B) The Federal Security Service (also known as
Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti or the FSB) in Moscow,
Russian Federation.
(C) The Special Technology Center (also known as
STLC, Ltd. Special Technology Center St. Petersburg) in
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.
(D) Zorsecurity (also known as Esage Lab) in Moscow,
Russian Federation.
(E) The autonomous noncommercial organization known
as the Professional Association of Designers of Data
Processing Systems (also known as ANO PO KSI) in Moscow,
Russian Federation.
(F) Igor Valentinovich Korobov.
(G) Sergey Aleksandrovich Gizunov.
(H) Igor Olegovich Kostyukov.
(I) Vladimir Stepanovich Alexseyev.
(6) On January 6, 2017, an assessment of the United States
intelligence community entitled, ``Assessing Russian Activities
and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections'' stated, ``Russian
President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016
aimed at the United States presidential election.'' The
assessment warns that ``Moscow will apply lessons learned from
its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the U.S. Presidential
election to future influence efforts worldwide, including
against U.S. allies and their election processes''.