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Tangled web connects Russian oligarch money to GOP campaigns | Commentary | Dallas News

"Party loyalty is often cited as the reason that GOP leaders have not been more outspoken in their criticism of President Donald Trump and his refusal to condemn Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Yet there may be another reason that top Republicans have not been more vocal in their condemnation. Perhaps it's because they have their own links to the Russian oligarchy that they would prefer go unnoticed.

Donald Trump and the political action committees for Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham, John Kasich and John McCain accepted $7.35 million in contributions from a Ukrainian-born oligarch who is the business partner of two of Russian president Vladimir Putin's favorite oligarchs and a Russian government bank.

During the 2015-2016 election season, Ukrainian-born billionaire Leonid "Len" Blavatnik contributed $6.35 million to leading Republican candidates and incumbent senators. Mitch McConnell was the top recipient of Blavatnik's donations, collecting $2.5 million for his GOP Senate Leadership Fund under the names of two of Blavatnik's holding companies, Access Industries and AI Altep Holdings, according to Federal Election Commission documents and OpenSecrets.org."

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Blavatnik is linked to Oleg Deripaska, a name you'll be hearing a lot when it comes to Trump/Russia, and the bank is VTB, the second largest Russian state owned bank. Deripaska has multiple ties to Paul Manafort, including in the Ukraine business. Trump's personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, has represented Deripaska in the past.

Paging Prosecutor Mueller...

The Dallas Morning News has been putting out some interesting reporting of late.

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"While there have been tensions between Putin and Deripaska over the years, the Kremlin came to Deripaska's rescue in 2009 when he was on the verge of bankruptcy by providing a $4.5 billion emergency loan through state-owned Vnesheconombank (VEB), where Putin is chair of the advisory board.

VEB, known as President Putin's "pet bank," is now in crisis after sanctions applied by Europe and U.S. in 2014 have isolated it from the international banks that were the sources of its nearly $4 billion in hard currency loans that, according to Bloomberg, mature this year and in 2018."

 

If they get the chance.

Republican Shadow Campaign for 2020 Takes Shape as Trump Doubts Grow

 

Do you think Hillary could beat Kasich in 2020? LOL.

 

I don't think Hillary could beat Zippy Chippy in 2020. Happily I don't think it will be an issue.

 

Do you think Mike Pence is representing the Deep State in 2020? LOL.

 

If she runs, who could beat her?

Her supporters seem to have only doubled down. They feel like they were robbed, and she deserves the presidency.

I don't see the party giving her the Jeb! Bush treatment.

If the nominee is anyone but Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, or Bernie Sanders, people will be disappointed.

 

First of a twitter chain.

 

You are insane. Get off Twitter.

 

If you took a poll today, would anyone knock even one of them out of the top three?

Now, I know that's based on name ID, but there's no second tier of candidates.

The media is trying to make Kamala Harris happen, but no one knows who she is.

 

Both were such disasters (Johnson and Aleppo and Stein and anti-vax), I don't think so. Just MHO.