Mitch McConnell's Ties to Russian Oil Money

[Sancho]

https://medium.com/@TheDemCoalition/mitch-mcconnells-ties-to-russian-oil-money-db56f16a4824?fbclid=IwAR3bq-blBbGNzv_5QFwb1dcP8B9D8U2MBJJ9JHhix4dwk5S5ntC-Drx1gpk

The Democratic Coalition’s ongoing investigation just uncovered the following evidence linking GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to Russian oil money, some of which we first revealed in February 2017.

McConnell recently voted to drop sanctions against Russian aluminum company RusAl which is still owned by one of Vladimir Putin’s sanctioned oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska. His action directly benefits one of the GOP leader’s major donors, whose fortune comes from Russian oil.

The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC run by Sen. McConnell’s former Chief of Staff, received a total of $3,500,000 ($2,500,000 in 2016 and $1,000,000 in 2017) via Access Industries and a subsidiary. Len Blavatnik is a Russian oligarch with US and UK citizenship who owns Access Industries and donated to Sen. McConnell’s 2016 Senate campaign vehicles.

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Forbes amply documented Blavatnik’s source funds from the Kremlin in 2013 by exhibiting a copy of the wire transfer itself in a story entitled “The Four Horsemen of Russia’s Economic Collapse.” It described his sale of a private Russian oil company to state-controlled Rosneft.

I doubt anyone on DU is surprised. Why is this connection not covered on mainstream media? If Starbucks coffee barons and Super Bowl commercials make prime time headlines, how about a little attention to the McTurtle scandal??

[dalton99a]

1. McConnell works like a cockroach

out of the limelight and behind the scenes

[blue-wave]

17. Yes, he does.

It appears as though he has the Russian connections and his wife has the Chinese connections. Hmmm, what could go wrong?


https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/16/1826335/-McConnell-s-China-Connection-Elaine-Chao

[enough]

2. I'd like to read this, but the link doesn't go to the story. NT

[FSogol]

3. Copy the entire link and paste into browser and it will work.

Not sure why the entire address doesn't become a link.

[Hortensis]

4. Newspaper/journal readers know about McConnell's connections.

Talking only do only a handful of topics 24/7 at a time. No idea how much of this is protection of one of their most important agents by right wing powers. But even the good shows, like Rachel, let many big stories sit for months until some new event brings them to a simmer or boil. Or maybe makes it safe enough to report them, i.e., the "breaking" news really is breaking out of attempts to suppress it.

I'm hoping the new event will be whiff of possible criminal investigation.

[UpInArms]

5. Link does not work

[FakeNoose]

11. Try this link to same article

https://medium.com/TheDemCoalition/mitch-mcconnells-ties-to-russian-oil-money-db56f16a4824

[UpInArms]

16. Thank you

[Sancho]

19. Thanks..!

[bdamomma]

6. K&R

Yes, finally something on him. Just follow the money.

[Stuart G]

7. If it can be proven that this money is ."criminal" then this explains a whole lot about Turtle

Turtle, Turtle, Turtle, Go into your shell
Turtle, Turtle, Turtle, Go directly to hell.
Turtle, Turtle, Turtle, We will miss you.
Turtle, Turtle, Turtle, .Good by, hope you get the flu

[bdamomma]

14. oh boy

I hope this nails him good.

[Texin]

8. Seven MIL in the tank to the Russians.

Is anyone surprised? He's likely more in bed with the Russians than his useful stooge in the WH.

[bluestarone]

9. Needs to be subpoenaed by the new house

FAST!!! In public so ALL can hear!!!!

[Buckeyeblue]

10. This needs to be made an issue in his re-election campaign

I would start running commercials about this now.

[Farmer-Rick]

12. So, basically it's an open secret that McConnell has accepted bribes from Russia

They had to know who owns Access Industries, it's a privately held foreign corporation. It's all over the web. And the PAC is strictly for McConnell despite its name.

So he has accepted over $3 million from a foreign national corporation. And thanks to the dancing supreme foreign countries are routinely paying off our politicians through PACs. In 2010, the Supremes through Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, purposely muddied campaign finance rules so that Russia, or any country, can come into the US and pay off our politicians for doing their dirty work.

[Lonestarblue]

13. Dallas Morning News covered this story in 2017 and again last year.

The Russian oligarch donated to several Republicans in 2016 in far greater dollars than in the past. He is a US citizen, so the donations are likely legal. Here’s the link to the 2018 article.

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/putins-proxies-helped-funnel-millions-gop-campaigns

[bdamomma]

15. thanks for the link

will save. And welcome to DU

[calimary]

18. Dallas Morning News had it in mid-2017.

And WE had it, too, just recently.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211657130

[Baltimike]

20. It's not covered bc the "liberal media" has been the conservative press all along. nt

[Hermit-The-Prog]

21. impeach and imprison Moscow Mitch

[Kablooie]

22. These donations are perfectly legal.

Since Blavatnik is an American citizen he's entitled to donate as much as he wants to US campaigns.
He is essentially laundering Kremlin money and legally shoveling into US elections.

This is the consequence of the Citizen's United decision by the Supreme Court.
They said the new law won't create the appearance of corruption and they may have been right.

It created the opportunity and legalizing of corruption.