DeSantis spokeswoman belatedly registers as agent of foreign politician

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

A spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) this week registered as a foreign agent of a former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, belatedly detailing work she performed for the politician between 2018 and 2020. The spokeswoman, Christina Pushaw, made the disclosure following contact from the Justice Department, according to her attorney, Michael Sherwin. She began her work in 2018 as a volunteer in the post-Soviet country, Sherwin said, and was ultimately paid $25,000 over the course of two years.

“Her efforts included writing op-eds, reaching out to supporters and officials, and advocating on his behalf in Georgia and in the United States,” Sherwin said. “The work ended in 2020. Ms. Pushaw was notified recently by the DOJ that her work on behalf of Mr. Saakashvilli likely required FARA registration. Ms. Pushaw filed for the registration retroactively as soon as she was made aware.” The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

The episode reflects standard enforcement practices under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), said Joshua Ian Rosenstein, an expert on the 1938 law at D.C.-based Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein and Birkenstock. A letter of inquiry may prompt a voluntary registration, he said, to “short-circuit a more formal determination of a failure to comply.” Enforcement can take place years after the activity in question if authorities receive a complaint or simply act on a public news item, he said. Though the methods are standard, Rosenstein added, there is an increased willingness to use them.

Last month, the Justice Department sued Steve Wynn, a developer and Republican megadonor, seeking to compel him to register as an agent of China. Days before that, a Washington lobbying firm said a probe into its work for Burisma Holdings concluded when it submitted a new filing retroactively detailing its activities on behalf of the Ukrainian oil and natural gas company, which once counted Hunter Biden as a board member. Pushaw, a year into her tenure as DeSantis’s press secretary, has become a prominent protector of her boss and a fierce critic of the media. Twitter briefly locked her account last year after the Associated Press said the criticism she directed at a reporter caused him to receive death threats.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/08/christina-pushaw-desantis-foreign-agent-saakashvili/

---

[yaesu]

1. So the elite class can get away with crimes by claiming ignorance, guess that doesn't surprise me nt

[AZLD4Candidate]

4. Isn't the phrase "ignorance of the law is no defense" still valid?

[TigressDem]

2. Her Foreign Boss, former Prez by Coup of Georgia (Near Ukraine, not FL)

JUST LIKE PAGES OUT OF THE RETHUGLICAN PLAYBOOK


While economic growth reached unprecedented level during Saakashvili's first term (averaging GDP increase of 10% a year), it remained largely non-inclusive. Saakashvili's foreign policy was characterized by pro-NATO and pro-EU politics. In 2010, he had a 67% approval rating. [11] However, it was objected that his reforms were mostly enforced top-down failing to achieve public consent, and although his policies led to a drastic reduction in crime and corruption, they resulted in a police state where opposition was suppressed and inmates were abused in prisons.[12]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikheil_Saakashvili


On 26 July 2017, Saakashvili (at the time staying in the US) was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship by Petro Poroshenko, and became a stateless person.[22][23] On 29 May 2019, he returned to Ukraine after newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky restored his citizenship.[24][25] On 1 October 2021, Saakashvili returned to Georgia after an eight-year absence, and called on his followers to march on the capital, Tbilisi.[26][27] He was arrested later on the same day in Tbilisi. [28] According to the investigation, Saakashvili entered the country secretly in the container of a sea cargo ship, in violation of the law.[29] President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili stated that she will "never" pardon Saakashvili.[citation needed] Later Zourabichvili confirmed her first statement again,[citation needed] while Saakashvili announced hunger strike joined by other members of his party.

On 10 October 2021, his personal doctor asked authorities to move him to hospital as he continued with his hunger strike since his arrest and his health condition had allegedly worsened.[30] Saakashvili ended the hunger strike after reaching agreement with authorities that they will transfer him to Gori Military Hospital for medical treatment. As of March 20, Saakashvili remains in No. 12 penitentiary facility in Rustavi.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

5. Oh THAT foreign leader I worked for for two years...must have slipped my mind...

And my damn lawyer did not say anything about it…so…please don’t indict me!

Look, I fixed it…honest slip of the mind.

[IronLionZion]

3. Maybe she'll claim she thought it was the US state

Christina Pushaw is a real piece of work. She made her career as a MAGA-style attack dog biting any DeSantis critics.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

6. They can't help it. They are fascists. Lying is in their nature as eating gazelles is in a lions.

[Stuart G]

7. End of DeSantis, heatline: "DeSantis spokeswoman belatedly registers as agent of foreign politician"

Enough to get a lot of people mad. That is enough to have him lose the next election..(.in my opinion)

Mad people either won't vote, or vote for the opponent.

[FakeNoose]

8. Why can't they admit it? She's really working for Putin

[BumRushDaShow]

9. They may have to find that connection too

From the article -

Pushaw’s work for Saakashvili involved going toe-to-toe in 2018 with W. Samuel Patten, a political consultant who had just pleaded guilty to not registering as an agent of a Ukrainian political party. As part of his plea deal, Patten agreed to assist special counsel Robert S. Mueller III in his investigation of foreign influence in the 2016 election.

And she claimed to have been in contact with DOJ and apparently was involved in this headache-inducing issue.

[rockfordfile]

10. Un-fking real deSantis a pos traitor.

[Delphinus]

11. Indeed.

This should be much bigger news.

[towerbum]

12. DeShitStain now should register for a Russian spy too ?

Got all that pension money ty'd up in Russia! Ronny is such a genius!