OK But This Seems Pretty Colludey -Nobody seems to care anymore, but the head honcho of an American

[applegrove]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.esquire.com/news-politics/amp36131391/treasury-sanctions-konstantin-kilimnik-paul-manafort-2016/

OK But This Seems Pretty Colludey

Nobody seems to care anymore, but the head honcho of an American presidential campaign was regularly sharing internal campaign polling data and strategy with a Russian intelligence officer.

By Jack Holmes at Esquire

Apr 15, 2021

"SNIP......

This is not an article about how Hillary Clinton lost because of Russian interference. This is not an article about how Russian interference in the 2016 election was the single worst thing that ever happened. It is not an article that operates on the sunny pretext that the United States has never interfered in anyone else's elections, though the idea voters in Michigan should bear some kind of karmic retribution for what the CIA did in South America doesn't make much sense in the first place. It's not about suggesting Donald Trump did not actually win the 2016 contest, which he did through the bizarre features of our electoral system. The 2016 election was not stolen or illegitimate.

The purpose here is to point out that Paul Manafort, his campaign manager for a key stretch of the campaign, appears to have worked regularly with a Russian intelligence agent during that time. Actually, that part is not totally new: a report from the Senate Intelligence Committee published in 2020—when the committee was controlled by Republicans—found that "on numerous occasions over the course of his time on the Trump campaign, Manafort sought to secretly share internal Campaign information with [Konstantin] Kilimnik." Specifically, Manafort's deputy, Rick Gates, said he was instructed to share campaign polling data with Kilimnik. The report—which, again, Republican allies of Donald Trump signed their names to—characterized Kilimnik as a "Russian intelligence officer."

The Department of the Treasury issued a sweeping set of new sanctions against the Russian government Thursday, and Kilimnik was included in that. As Justin Hendrix first pointed out, there are some continuing similarities with Senate Intel in how they chose to talk about him.

....

Now we're talking "strategy," too, and Treasury says outright that Kilimnik provided the info to Russian intelligence. Seems relevant that they were sharing all this when, for instance, Russia's Facebook influence campaign targeted Michigan and Wisconsin voters with considerable precision. Meanwhile, Manafort was working on Trump's campaign for free. Totally normal stuff for a political consultant—a famously selfless bunch–that surely had nothing to do with the fact he owed a Russian oligarch millions of dollars. That oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, has close ties to Kilimnik.

......SNIP"

[crickets]

1. Just for grins, try a web search for "Oleg Deripaska Mitch McConnell"

and see what pops up. It's a real eye-opener. That Oleg fellow seems to know everybody worth knowing in Repub circles.

[applegrove]

2. Wow. Am I right the money to Kentucky did not come through in the end?

[crickets]

3. Not really. Braidy Industries is not holding up their end.

The whole thing sounds like it may have been pie in the sky from the beginning. Mitch, of course, claimed to know nothing about what was going on -- while still pushing hard to get sanctions lifted.

Russian Company Bankrolling Troubled Kentucky Aluminum Plant Suspends Investments / Mar 2021
https://www.wuky.org/post/russian-company-bankrolling-troubled-kentucky-aluminum-plant-suspends-investments

According to a Bloomberg report, Rusal, the formerly blacklisted Russian company with a major stake in the 10-figure project, is suspending its investments while it awaits word that its U.S. partners have raised the necessary funds. So far the company has sunk at least $65 million in the proposed mill, to be built by Unity Aluminum, previously known as Braidy Industries.

The news is only the latest twist for the troubled project, which has been plagued by fundraising questions and the ouster of the CEO formerly overseeing the venture. Rusal's involvement has been controversial from the start, after it was revealed that the company had been subject to sanctions.

Kentucky pledged $15 million in taxpayer dollars toward the project under former Gov. Matt Bevin, but current Gov. Andy Beshear has repeatedly vowed to get the money back if the mill project doesn't materialize.

Backers have touted the plant, which was slated for completion last year, as one that could create up to 550 jobs.

Russian Backer Halts Funds in New Blow to U.S. Aluminum Project / Mar 2021
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-17/russian-backer-halts-funds-in-new-blow-to-u-s-aluminum-project

The funding freeze is the latest in a series of twists, including a battle for control of the mill that led to the ousting last year of Braidy’s chief executive officer, and questions over the timing when the U.S. lifted sanctions on Rusal. The plan announced in 2017 was for a $1.3 billion rolling mill to meet growing demand for the metal from the automotive, packaging and aerospace markets.

“Unfortunately, our partner failed to contribute necessary equity from their side, so then it was a substantial change of the management and shareholder structure of Braidy Industries,” Oleg Mukhamedshin, Rusal’s deputy CEO, said on a call. “We put on hold any further investments of the project as per our agreement, and we still expect our partners to raise necessary financing after the Covid pandemic gets better.”

Mukhamedshin said Rusal’s “Plan B” is to convert the investment into a debt instrument with certain securities if Unity Aluminum isn’t successful in securing the necessary funding.

Braidy Industries gave former CEO Craig Bouchard $6 million to sever ties with company / Jun 2020
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/19/ex-ceo-craig-bouchard-got-6-million-sever-ties-braidy/3224909001/

A Securities and Exchange Commission report filed by Braidy Industries on Monday showed it paid $6 million to former CEO Craig Bouchard as part of a settlement to drop his lawsuit against the company and fully sever his ties.

Bouchard founded the company in 2017 and announced plans to build a $1.7 billion aluminum rolling mill near Ashland with an initial investment of $15 million from the taxpayers of Kentucky — a project that has stalled because of Braidy's inability to secure enough funding. [snip]

Braidy Industries must raise $300 million before Rusal is required to give an additional $125 million of capital contributions. If that investment is not raised, Rusal could walk away from the agreement, with the report stating it "may leave the Mill without sufficient funding to complete construction and commence operations or obtain the necessary debt financing to do so."

US Senate report says Russian investor in Braidy Industries' mill is a proxy for the Kremlin / Aug 2020
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/08/19/senate-report-russian-investor-braidy-mill-kremlin-proxy/5607217002/

A Russian company that has invested in Braidy Industries' planned aluminum rolling mill in Eastern Kentucky was identified as a proxy of the Kremlin in a new report the Senate Intelligence Committee released this week. [snip]

The Republican-led Senate committee released a report Tuesday that detailed extensive connections between President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign advisers and people with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime. [snip]

The Senate committee's report, which examines Russian efforts to interfere in America's 2016 presidential election, says: "Deripaska's companies, including RUSAL, are proxies for the Kremlin, including for Russian government influence efforts, economic measures, and diplomatic relations." [snip]

A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission report Braidy filed in June said Rusal had provided $75 million so far for the mill project as of Dec. 31, 2019, but had discontinued further contributions until Braidy secures another $300 million in funding.

The Kentucky Democratic Party on Wednesday questioned McConnell's decision to support lifting the sanctions on Rusal, in light of the Senate Intelligence Committee report's identification of Rusal as a proxy for the Kremlin. [more]

Apologies for the wall o' text. Moscow Mitch brings out the furious copy and paste in me.

[ancianita]

5. Yep, Deripaska's Rusal sits right there in KY, Oleg layin' low, down the road from any of Mitch's

six Kentucky offices. Rusal's probably been a ruse, y'all.

[Ilsa]

4. I want to know who in the FBI or CIA

hung on to the details of the connection until now. Surely this isn't news to our intel agencies?

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. And the Treasury points out Trump's "it was Ukraine interfering" was Kilminik's claim

Konstantin Kilimnik (Kilimnik) is a Russian and Ukrainian political consultant and known Russian Intelligence Services agent implementing influence operations on their behalf. During the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, Kilimnik provided the Russian Intelligence Services with sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy. Additionally, Kilimnik sought to promote the narrative that Ukraine, not Russia, had interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Not only was the campaign providing polling data to the Russian intelligence services; Trump was repeating their propaganda, fed to him by Manafort, Guiliani or other go-betweens.