Former Putin Aide, Found in Washington, Died From Blows to Head

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: New York Times

Washington — A former close aide to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia who was found dead in a hotel room in the Dupont Circle neighborhood in November died of blunt force injuries to the head, the chief medical examiner’s office here said on Thursday. Russian state media had reported that the aide, Mikhail Y. Lesin, died in the hotel of a heart attack.

A member of Mr. Lesin’s family who reportedly spoke with RIA Novosti, the state news agency, also said in November that Mr. Lesin had died of a heart attack.

On Thursday the medical examiner’s office said that Mr. Lesin’s body showed signs of blunt force injury not only to the head but to the neck and torso, as well as upper and lower extremities. The medical examiner’s office did not explain the timing of the announcement, although officials said that findings often take 60 to 90 days.

The matter remains the subject of a police investigation here. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department, Lt. Sean Conboy, declined on Thursday to provide additional comment. Andrew Ames, a spokesman for the F.B.I. in Washington, also had no comment.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/11/us/former-putin-aide-found-in-washington-died-from-blows-to-head.html

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

1. It's a step up. In Soviet times they would usually die from a cold...

...a 22 caliber cold.

[Raster]

2. ....former close aid...

Major fucking emphasis on: "FORMER"

"...the state news agency, also said in November that Mr. Lesin had died of a heart attack.

On Thursday the medical examiner’s office said that Mr. Lesin’s body showed signs of blunt force injury not only to the head but to the neck and torso, as well as upper and lower extremities."

He must have pissed off The Tsar.

[Human101948]

3. Natural causes...

Associating with Putin naturally causes death.

[KamaAina]

4. Wonder when RT will pick this one up?

[happyslug]

9. RT reporting saying the Russia Government wants more details

https://www.rt.com/news/335181-russian-media-tycoon-death-washington/

Four months after the death of former Russian press minister and prominent media figure Mikhail Lesin in a DC hotel, Washington’s chief medical examiner has revealed forensic data indicating that Lesin died of injuries to the head.
While initial reports following Lesin’s death in DC’s Dupont Hotel on November 5, 2015 indicated that a heart attack had been to blame, no conclusive official forensic data has been released until now.

A joint statement by the District of Colombia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) and Metropolitan Police Department said that the former minister’s death had been a violent one, as cited by RIA Novosti on Thursday...

Meanwhile, Moscow said it is now expecting Washington to clarify why Russia has not received any data on the probe into Lesin’s death despite repeated requests......

Lesin was considered one of the most influential figures in the Russian media landscape and is best known for serving as the press minister from 1999-2004 under President Vladimir Putin. He became a presidential media adviser in 2004 and oversaw questions relating to the development of media and information technologies until he left the post in 2009. Lesin is credited with the idea of establishing RT as an English-language television network to convey Russian positions to the international audience.[div]

[MADem]

5. I guess that heart packed quite the right hook and uppercut... ? nt

[Dont call me Shirley]

6. Mikhail...

[Cavallo]

7. Agreed, very sad.

[houston16revival]

8. What does Trump think?

Still praising Putin?

[newthinking]

12. This happened in DC and the details kept confidential for 3 months

by *our* government officials, not theirs. It sounds like the Russian reports were based on what they were told.

Everyone is assuming that the initial inaccurate report was Russian "propaganda", but it sounds like it was based on what a relative was told and then told the press.

I don't know what that means but it is certainly not clear at this point and there are many unusual factors.

[red dog 1]

15. Trump will probably blame Obama for Lesin's death.

[olddad56]

19. if elected, you will probably start seeing Trump's former aides turning up the same way.

[monicaangela]

10. What was he doing in Washington?

[newthinking]

13. That certainly must be part of the investigation

[monicaangela]

17. I would hope so

Wonder if he was divulging Russian secrets or something. I am really going to have to stay tuned for the outcome of that investigation.

[red dog 1]

11. Very strange!

I wonder where the "heart attack" story came from?

[newthinking]

14. Sounds like it came from a relative

[red dog 1]

18. Yeah, but according to the OP, "Russian state media had reported that the aide....

...died in the Hotel of a heart attack."

And the article goes on:
"A member of Mr. Lesin's family, who reportedly spoke with RIA Novosti, the state news agency, ALSO said in November that Mr. Lesin had died of a heart attack."

The question is: Was the relative TOLD to say that by RIA Novosti, (or by someone else)?

If so, couldn't it mean that Putin was the one who gave the order to "tell them that he died of a heart attack"?

(BTW, that is the shortest NYT article I've ever seen.....about 150 words)

[Igel]

16. The FSB.

It's necessary, therefore it's appropriate.

Same old, same old.

Lesin'll be airbrushed out of any pictures with Putin in the near future. Possibly replaced with a palm tree. Or, given the nationalist fervor, a birch tree.

[C Moon]

20. Scary. Someone beat the hell out of him until he died...

and everyone was told it was a heart attack.

[nikto]

21. If Joe Scarborough can get away scot-free after Lori Klausutis, then Putin's a cinch

Just avoid an autopsy report.

http://www.examiner.com/article/joe-scarborough-s-dirty-little-secret

[FailureToCommunicate]

22. Isn't radioactive tea the usual choice to offer an out-of-favor Putin associate?

[Sunlei]

23. nicknamed "the Bulldozer", he left behind multi-million dollar assets in the USA. Accusations-

Lesin led the Kremlin's efforts to censor Russia's independent television outlets, according to accusations by Senator Roger Wicker (Republican of Mississippi) in 2014.[16] Wicker called on the Justice Department to launch an investigation into Lesin and his immediate family over allegations of corruption and money laundering.[16][18] In a July 29, 2014, letter to then-Attorney General Eric Holder, Wicker wrote Lesin and his immediate family had "acquired multi-million dollar assets" in Europe and the United States "during his tenure as a civil servant," including multiple residences in Los Angeles worth $28 million.[16][18][19]

On December 3, 2014, Assistant Attorney General Peter J. Kadzik replied to Senator Wicker's letter by stating the Justice Department's Criminal Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been referred for appropriate disposition of Mikhail Lesin and "similarly situated Russian individuals and companies with assets in the United States that may be in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Statutes."[20][21] The properties are located at
$13.8 million house of 1,200 square metres (13,000 sq ft) at 10 Beverly Park, Beverly Hills, California[d]
$9 million house of 980 square metres (10,500 sq ft) at 321 Bristol Avenue, Brentwood, Los Angeles, California[e]
$5.6 million house of 630 square metres (6,800 sq ft) in Beverly Park, Los Angeles, California[f]
$4.3 million house along Mulholland Drive at 13327 Java Drive, Beverly Hills, California[g]
$3.995 million house of 570 square metres (6,100 sq ft) in Palisades Highlands, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California[h]

It's unclear if the FBI ever initiated a probe.[16][26]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Lesin#Accusations

IMO, someone 'offed' him.

[Demonaut]

24. he was tortured