Tangled web connects Russian oligarch money to GOP campaigns

[MelissaB]

Tangled web connects Russian oligarch money to GOP campaigns

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.

Marco Rubio's Conservative Solutions PAC and his Florida First Project received $1.5 million through Blavatnik's two holding companies. Other high dollar recipients of funding from Blavatnik were PACS representing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker at $1.1 million, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham at $800,000, Ohio Governor John Kasich at $250,000 and Arizona Senator John McCain at $200,000.

More: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/03/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-gop-campaigns

[underpants]

1. Follow the money

[MelissaB]

4. Yep. For a while I was posting Blavatnik's donation screen shot on McConnell's fb page

daily. People here in KY are clueless about this.

[workinclasszero]

6. Yep

It works every time!

[malaise]

2. Truth will out

History will not absolve these ReTHUG scumbags.

Off to the greatest page for thee

[dem4decades]

3. That's three of the most anti Russian Republican Senators

What the hell is going on here? We need McCain and Graham to be anti Russian, Rubio is a true snowflake and will melt with the tiniest amount of heat.

[renegade000]

5. Those three got played most likely

Kompromat. McConnell likely willingly signed his soul over...

[workinclasszero]

7. Look up Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R)

He's on Putin's payroll too.

[R B Garr]

8. Well, the first two sentences say it all.

Scary. But I still think the current investigations will expose enough of this that they will not get away with it.

[Scurrilous]

9. K&R