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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMariia Butina, an heir to the Rockefeller fortune, the National Prayer Breakfast & a dinner days a
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Seriously, if you haven't read it, please head to Bloomberg now.
A scion of the Rockefeller clan, George D. ONeill Jr., was one of the U.S. conservatives who allegedly helped Mariia Butinas efforts to build a secret line of communication back to the Kremlin, judging by details in recent U.S. filings.
ONeill, a 68-year-old sculptor and a rainmaker for conservatives since Pat Buchanans 1992 presidential run, hosted a private dinner in Washington, D.C., for a delegation of Russian dignitaries in town for a National Prayer Breakfast in early February 2017, he has said publicly and to Bloomberg last year. There, just days after President Donald Trumps inauguration, the Russians met two Republican lawmakers and other conservative luminaries, he has said.
The dinner is also referenced in a trip itinerary given to Russian delegates traveling to Washington for the breakfast, which was reviewed by Bloomberg. Delegates also received a Russian-language rundown of the Americans they could expect to meet at the dinner. Among them were ONeill and his wife, a Russian-speaking congressional aide and a conservative operative they were told was an adviser to the new Trump administration, according to a document reviewed by Bloomberg.
The timing and details of that early 2017 gathering matches one of several dinners that U.S. prosecutors refer to in charges they recently unveiled against Butina, accusing her of failing to declare her efforts to advance Russias interests in the U.S. Prosecutors identify the host only as U.S. Person 2. ONeill didnt respond to requests to verify that he was that person. The Justice Department declined to comment.
More: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-26/rockefeller-heir-seen-to-help-butina-link-russians-d-c-elites
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Before the prayer breakfast visit, Butina wrote in an email that the delegation of about a dozen Russians would include VERY influential people close to the Kremlin coming to establish a back channel of communications. They included a Russian close to President Vladimir Putin, who has been identified as Alexander Torshin. Afterward, according to another email cited by prosecutors, Butina wrote the person believed to be ONeill to thank him for the wonderful dinner. She added: My dearest President has received the message about your group initiatives and your constructive and kind attention to the Russians.
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ONeill and his wife are listed first, followed by Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, who, the presentation noted, supports Russias annexation of Crimea. It closes with Paul Erickson, who is believed to be the U.S. Person 1 who appears throughout the Butina documents. Erickson is identified, in the Russian-language presentation, as a Trump administration adviser. Its unclear whether he had such a role. The White House didnt immediately comment.
MelissaB
(16,420 posts)Others on the list include Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican (in favor of Russian-American dialogue, the list noted), and Hollywood director Ronald Maxwell (under consideration to lead the Culture Ministry under Donald Trump, Dreams of making a film about Stalin-era repression).