And the GOP lets this happen. Mitch McConnell, you are letting this happen. Shame, Mitch, Shame.
4
this administration is all about money for the wealthy, especially if it is in favor of rich americans or rich russians. the greed is very obvious.
3
If you read this, one walks away believing that trump truly is Putin’s puppet. This election was bought and paid for by Wall Street and Russian oligarchs.
4
There should be no confusion. Its collusion. And the Senate GOP are in it up to their eyeballs.
3
In a month the so-called president, 'Merica's OWN "artful dealer" has:
Kept 800,000 government workers from being paid,
Kept 300,000 or more government employees working without pay,
Ended routine inspections of our food,
ENDED sanctions on Russian oligarch DERIPASKA.
NOT produced funding for his wall,
and,
NOT solved a single immigration problem.
Impressive.
You must ADMIRE the way a Russian Oligarch is being take care of instead of those who work FOR our government.
Yep.
Impressive enough to remember in 2020.
3
NYT: please publish names of all senators voting yes, or absent, to lift sanctions.
3
Pity this comes out only after the Senate voted and
lacked a mere 3-4 trumpicans to reimpose the sanctions....
I wonder why it took that long for the leaked additional
information to emerge, and whether the Senate trumpicans
might be sufficiently angry about looking like
the bunch of saps that they are to decide to have another
vote.
I mean, really, how useful can it be to have
voted the way they voted in light of this additional information?
3
This is what collusion looks like in plain sight by most of the Republican Party. I hope Mueller is watching.
2
how the transnational oligarchy rolls...
4
This is much more interesting and substantial than anything involving individual 1's lawyer's off the wall silliness (he who
begins to resemble Polonius?). And this time there
will be a serious investigation within some House committee.
So I certainly expect the Times to keep us well informed.
6
What will it take for us to rid ourselves of Putin and Trump?
8
Sold down the Moskva river by TRAITORS.
How much longer will we tolerate this?
8
The rich (Russian) get richer, and the poor (TSA agents) get poorer. I am ashamed of our country.
8
It's obvious to everyone except the Trump cultists that Trump and his gang have long been in bed with Putin and his Russian mobster friends.
This latest pro-Putin action is just another example.
The Dems should be moving forward on two main things:
stopping the government shutdown, and impeaching Trump immediately.
7
When is Congress going to impeach this corrupt traitor? Giving comfort and aid to the enemy. We aren’t at war? We are being attacked, on multiple fronts, since before 2016.
8
Is anyone surprised? Trump & the GOP are compromised. Do you need anymore proof than this?
6
@Clark Kent
More than compromised. Trump is interested in getting his tower built. He wants to do Putin's bidding in the US and the GOP is letting him. Treason and greed come to mind.
1
We've got quids. We've got quos. We've got public confessions from Trump that he obstructed justice by, for example, firing the FBI Director over the Russia thing.
If the Republican Party wasn't dominated by corrupt traitors, they would have already removed this corrupt traitor from office.
9
Is anyone still surprised to learn that Trump and his whole administration are corrupt and treasonous?
5
Could benefit?
You think?
3
Trumps motto 'Make Russia great again'. Trump supporters, get with the program. He doesn't care about you.
6
"There is a word for all that in English: It's called suspicious."
Lt. Aldo Raine
2
I have heard that the "executive cells" Federal penitentiary are getting scarce. It would behoove Steven Mnuchin to stop by the "pen" and make a deposit to reserve a cell with a view.
3
Trump can't seem to take care of his Federal employees but can his rich Russian oligarch buds. This whole "Russian" connection smells of graft, collusion and traitor like actions.
9
Speaking of “bit players” I just read that Deripaska’s accused prostitute “acquaintance” has been freed from a Moscow jail ; the same woman who was a guest on Oleg’s yacht who claimed she had some information that Mueller would like to know;the same sex coach who Oleg insisted be sentenced jail in Thailand.
Amazing how “liberating“ sanctions relief can be.
1
No, for real? I am laughing very hard. Suppose we can check this one off as a Trump/Putin secret discussion item? Too bad they wouldn't subpoena the U.S. translator from whom Trump confiscated the transcript and told them to tell no one. I'm singing; remember this one? 'Secret Agent Man!' giving him a number and taking away his name. Oh, 2020, where are you?
3
Advantages for Russia.
Disadvantages for Americans.
Thanks for nothing, Trump.
Go figure.
4
Seems many more than former Russian-Republican Dana Rohrbacher and Traitor Trump are Putie Puppets. Yes, my friends, that awful stench of treason mixed with dying white supremacy is coming from the GOP. And Mitt was going to save us from the tyranny.
6
Shut down the American Government, let 800 K Americans suffer; but in the same time help an Russian Oligarch get richer by lifting sanction for meddling in the election. If this is not corrupt; criminal and absolutely unpatrioticfrom Trump and his GOP comrats I don't know anymore what is.
Arrest him for the crimes he has done now
5
re: Deripaska’s aluminum giant, Rusal, and "the company’s pivotal role as a global supplier of aluminum".
Reminder: U.S. tariffs of 25% on imports of Canadian steel and 10% on imports of Canadian aluminum remain in effect as do Canadian countermeasures against U.S. Steel and Aluminum Products.
Canada buys more American steel than any other country in the world. Canada and the U.S. also share a highly integrated aluminum market.
If you want to help the domestic industry then lifting these misbegotten tariffs would do more good than easing sanctions intended to discourage Russian military adventures.
Just sayin'.
3
There is no question what this is all about. It's all about the Trump and Kushner families and where they can find huge amounts of money for their "investments." What's so sad is that the Republican Party seems have to begun to be more interested in representing the Oligarchs of Russia than the American people. Which raises the question of who, among the Republican leadership, is also on the till. Since we know that many of them have met with Russians, sometimes in mysterious circumstances, it's pretty sure that many are.
7
Oleg Deripaska was promised "private briefings" on our 2016 election by Paul Manafort, who was deeply in debt to him.
Manafort also gave internal polling data to other Russian oligarchs with ties to Putin.
Deripaska, a close associate of Vladimir Putin, is at the center of the Kremlin's cyber attack on our 2016 election. Why is the GOP rewarding the Russian government? Is this a downpayment for the 2020 elections or just the payoff for 2016?
Congress has to begin to have public hearings on whether Trump and some members of the Republican party are beholden to the Kremlin.
5
My goodness. This is arguably as bad as Trump's other troubling behavior vis-a-vis Russia. On the surface, the Trump Republican White House is pretending to be hard on Russia. But in secret they have put in place an agreement that greatly helps an oligarch who is close to Putin and Manafort. Moreover, Congressional Republicans and the Treasury Department are facilitating and protecting this duplicity. Sorry, fellas. This looks like treason all around, in the ordinary sense of that word.
Granted, little could be as bad as Trump's secret meetings with Putin. Trump refused to tell his own staff or cabinet what was discussed or agreed to. Russian propaganda TV has published lists of these agreements. Trump confiscated the interpreters' notes, and presumably destroyed them. At the sole meeting where staff was present, Trump gave the Russians vital top-secret information. After the Helsinki disaster, Trump said he would not meet with Putin in South America, but did so anyway--secretly.
As reported here:
"... a binding confidential document signed by both sides suggests that the agreement the administration negotiated ... may have been less punitive than advertised … The deal contains provisions that free him [Deripaska] from hundreds of millions of dollars in debt while leaving him and his allies with majority ownership of his most important company, the document shows."
4
How much more proof do we need that there is a vast conspiracy with Russia being run out of the White House and likely participated in by certain members of both houses of Congress? I keep waiting for what will ultimately be the "Enough!" point, but it never comes. I just hope there's a country left to save when the Mueller report finally arrives.
5
Outstanding reporting by Ken Vogel.
Too bad the Times editors chose to bury coverage of the sanctions vote last week. The outrage after the senate vote was enormous. The lack of coverage before and immediately after the vote was shocking.
I have yet to see one Republican senator quoted on their reason for voting with Deripaska. Nor was there any indication they declined to respond. Now that the misleading Treasury document is uncovered, it is even more important that the supporters of this scandal be put on the record.
This is just another step in the normalization of this corrupt administration, which any casual observer knows is beholden to an adversarial foreign power.
5
Fascinating, but not surprising, how anyone can be fooled by Trump. I recognize that millions are, or at least many of them will look the other way to get things they (think?) want. It just staggers me to see the how various negative impulses (greed, authoritarianism, religious fanaticism, and, yes, racial bigotry) can work to generate the most illogical rationalizations for poor judgement. Not wrong (a moral relativity value judgement); poor, as in support of actions that actually work against what one thinks one wants in the end.
In this case, if anyone can honestly utter support for this initiative of the administration, they need serious time with a therapist or life coach or something. Others, I know, are just milking the moment for personal gain. Like Trump.
1
It's just amazing how many Russian dots it takes for trump supporters to connect them. Seems each individual shady contact, lie and revision is just one meeting, or one lie, with no connection to all of the others.
They will instantly believe, for example, that one meeting 'on the tarmac' was an attempt to throw the 2016 election. But ALL the trump campaign, for two years, meet with Russians over and over, then lie about it, then lie about the lies, then try to denigrate law enforcement, well that's just the deep state, right?
trump supporters, we're waiting to see just how far your infallible president can lead you down the Russian pathway before you regain your independent American thought processes. In the meantime, we'll stay vigilant.
3
"...the sanctions relief deal will allow Mr. Deripaska to wipe out potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in debt by transferring some of his shares..."
Hmmm. So, who taught who the old debt wipe out trick? Or was it like, "Listen buddy, we want to sanction you in public, but let you slide in private. Capisce?" Either way, the deal does not pass the smell test.
2
The Republican Senate is compromised to a foreign government it seems. Why else would they specifically support dropping sanctions/not enforcing them against a Russian oligarch with ties to Manafort? This sounds like a payoff of M's debts to me. Quid pro quo, in other words. How long will American citizens let the country be ruled by an international crime syndicate? Consider a work stoppage to fight back and show solidarity with federal employees struggling to make ends meet.
2
When is come to lifting sanctions on Russians, Jared-Dearest end very eager to help the Russians, even before sanctions were imposed my the Obama administration in late December, 2016.
Jared met an alumni of of the Russian spy school and head to the government owned Russian Development Bank VEB on December, 12th 2016 at Trump Tower. Both Flynn and the former Russian ambassador to the US, Kislyak, were present.
That Russian government owned bank had bee put under US and other country's sanction after the annexation of Crimea already.
Right after that meeting the banker flew from New York directly to Japan where Putin was attending an international meeting.
SC has most certainly followed the money for some time, and not just that of Individual 1 but the money of his equally corrupt mishpocha.
Jared even told the US law makers in his sworn testimony that he didn't even remember Kislyaks name.
No Russian collusion. Not ever. Of course not.
1
Another installment of the global power elite, looking out after the interests of the global power elite. Global corporate welfare for the rich and powerful.
Our country forgives the massive debts of Russian Oligarchs while denying basic services to its own people, setting up debtor prisons for our poor. The rich protect their own shutting the middle and working class out of opportunity.
So much for the pull yourself up by your boot straps American dream. The only way to get ahead in this world is to be born into the global power elite.
Given the apparent nature of how the oligarchs do business why would anybody think that by shuffling the percentages of the various wolves ownership the chickens would be any more safe? Mnuchin, Trump, Deripaska, Putin are all cut from the same cloth. They make Ayn Rand's methods of business look nearly benevolent. Once again the key villian in the story appears to be Mitch McConnell who, aparently alone, has the power to release the Senate to perform it's sworn duties, but he just won't. Just what is his game?
McConnell should be pressured directly, forcefully and endlessly exposing his cowardice and double dealing of the public interests until he consistently act's to allow the Senate to deliberate and once again be a functioning arm of government. Trump be pleased or not.
1
Wake up America! By weakening your global alliances, you are ceding power in the world. By abusing your allies, you expose yourself. Consider the following steps you are taking:
1. You impose tariffs on Canadian aluminum under the pretext of "national security; 2) this raises the price your companies and others charge for an essential component of military hardware, 3) you lift sanctions on Ruslan that transfer billions of dollars to Russian oligarchs and protects rising prices for their aluminum; 4) you ask Canada to arrest a Chinese telecom executive on a US extradition warrant, causing diplomatic problems over a rule of law issue, and then your "President" suggests he would overlook the law if it got a trade deal for him with China. Is it any wonder that the US is losing its soft power around the world? Your friends will lose confidence in our treaties, agreements, and mutual commitments. Without the world order that the US helped establish, your hard power is ineffective.
1
And what about the women in a US prison out west? She was with Deriproska on his yacht and should be sprung by the FBI so she can safely testify. She’s afraid of being deported to Russia.
1
Is this not collusion? grounds for impeachment? Or did Russia purchase a number of Republican Senators to get this sweetheart deal.
All Mueller has to do to investigate this deal is read the daily news in the New York Times. Hope Mueller will add this to the collusion investigation.
9
Outrageous to think that instead of opening the government and paying the government workers tax payers have already paid for, Republican senators are more interested in working on behalf of their patron saints and dollars in Russia.
The list of Republicans should be published and highlighted - rather than the 11 that voted against. Mueller should add all those who voted for this to their Russia inquiry and so should Democrats in the House investigate the russophiles over government worker Republicans.
I wonder how many shares Mnuchin and trump got, held in escrow in VTB?
109
Trump is loyal and trusting of Russians but when it comes to,U.S.Citizens he is lacking in empathy and feels free to bully and insult them.Does he need to be reminded that he took an oath to preserve and protect the American Constitution.He is working at least as hard to curry favor with Russia as he is with American citizens.
31
The only logical conclusion from this sordid tale and others is Russia (through the GRU, allied U.S. citizens, and organizations the NRA) is funneling essential campaign money and assistance to Trump and the GOP, and the quid pro quo for Russia is sanctions relief, now to Deripaska and his companies and more to come. Follow the money. For Putin, KGB-trained and Russia Firster, the quid pro quo is also bringing the U.S. to its knees.
The big questions are: how does the media expose this near-unimaginable corruption/treason in terms Americans can absorb? Are there institutions in our nation that can cope with this unprecedented level of greed and rot?
49
@Julie B
The American people can handle the truth just fine, what we can't handle is being lied to by our leaders.
1
Unfortunately, too many Americans are willing to turn away from or ignore or rationalize the truth for their own selfish reasons, or plain ignorance. Handling the truth is very different. As for leaders lying, the GOP leadership is making an art form of deception while enriching themselves and their cohorts. That’s an obvious truth that should not be ignored, or allowed to be ignored. As has already been said many times, follow the money.
4
@Patricia.I agree, but how long must we wait? To paraphrase Langston Hughes, truth delayed is truth denied. Trump and GOP are soaked through and through with Russian collusion.
4
Republican Senators:
Please share with the American public what issue you were hiding behind with this decision to lift sanctions? It certainly was not either common sense or a sense of responsibility to our country.
34
Let us remember that Trump and a number of Republican members of Congress have received significant amounts of money from various Russian oligarchs.
Some of the money was funneled through the NRA--to the tune of $30 million to Trump, and another $40 million distributed to other Republicans. Mitch McConnell has received $6.5 million from Russian sources, so I don't understand why there is anyone who thinks it's a mystery that Republicans lifted sanctions on Deripaska's businesses, and why they haven't gone after Trump about his questionable decision to withdraw troops from Syria--a Putin goal. Before announcing that decision did Trump even know where Syria is located on the map?
39
It is maddening that the social media glazed public will not take the time to understand the complex relationships involved here.
And of course the Republican led Senate is letting this slide through...not noted in the article is that Len Blavatnik also gave money to Mitch McConnell and several others. I must call out that credit is due to Marco Rubio, who both received funds from Blavatnik AND voted against lifting these sanctions.
This is so obviously a sleazy deal that's payoff to the Russians for their work on behalf of Trump. And when history comes out with the full story, Americans will be too distracted to truly understand it.
23
How come we never see the term "American oligarchs" in the corporate-media? I guess they must avoid any admission that the US is an oligarchy.
10
“But a binding confidential document signed by both sides suggests that the agreement the administration negotiated with the companies controlled by the oligarch, Oleg V. Deripaska, may have been less punitive than advertised.”
Were the GOP fellow travelers in the Senate even aware of this secret document protecting a Russian oligarch when they voted? How is this possible?
15
Playing around with percent ownership, is just musical chairs. All the Russian oligarchs and firms owe their allegiance to Putin. Without his OK, they would end up in jail.
Once again Trump appears to be beholding to Putin's Russia.
18
I am so very tired of this administration ignoring all the experienced, educated people in our country that used to work in government positions. Best and brightest used to actually include something along with that ~ values that are not related to money. Ready for the corrupt money-grubbers to go to prison!
14
We need the name of all the Republicans who voted to lift sanctions, present this article to them, and ask them who they work for. Each state must confront their Senators in a big way.
25
The perfect convergence of Trump's inept trade war with China, especially with regard to aluminum markets, and his fealty toward Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs.
Our country is being crushed by the weight of the water that Mitch McConnell and the GOP Senate caucus has carried for this corrupt administration.
20
Interpreter's notes, reports and information about the content of meetings between Putin and Trump have been kept from public scrutiny. Now at least we know about a few things that were discussed. Actually, we've known all along, haven't we?
14
It’s so, so reassuring to know that the enemy combatant in the White House is doing his masters bidding at the expense of all US citizens. Ordinary people are being shaken down for the money in their pockets in the name of civil forfeiture, but no one bothers to scrutinize the business dealings of a president who may be well deserving of a little civil forfeiture himself. It might sound cold, but we are getting what we unfortunately deserve by electing someone from Bizarro Earth as our leader From where I’m standing the Democrats are sowing the seeds for a Trump/Putin victory in 2020. To take one out of their playbook: could you imagine the Republican fury if the former president had embraced the Russian leader as his lord and savior the way the current one does?
11
Please, don’t loose sight of the fact that this is about the interests of a Private Corporation controlled by an Russian Oligarch beholden to Putin.
The Private Corporation seems to have the upper hand for reasons that seem too terrifying to contemplate.
Are we seeing the confluence of Fascism and Capitalism?
11
Trump made his career stiffing creditors and leaving investors holding the bag through strategic bankruptcies. He pays his bills only when he had to - when the creditor had usable power over him, or when he needs that creditor for his next moves. So it says something that he's paying the bills owed to Putin so faithfully. Meanwhile as a bonus, whatever help Manafort can still give through silence or disinformation has now been paid for as well, and whatever bad press might have resulted from any revenge operation (by Deripaska on Manafort & Co.) has been avoided. For now. Yes, the only short-term solution is flipping the Senate ASAP. At the next bombshell, Murkowski, Collins, and Romney should cross the aisle for the good of the country. They would all likely win re-election if they want it, and in any case would go down in history as profiles in courage.
8
To all the Senators complicit in this - you bowed to Mitch - talking points in 2020! Voters will remember the shutdown that left millions in the cold while padding Tussian pockets. Why? Insist on seeing Trump’s financials - follow the money. To those who wanted a shake up - you got a shakedown. Too blind to see what the rest of us had the foresight to know.
14
1) it’s Putin’s money, but only if we give it back.
2) watch the fate of Nastya, who just got dragged to jail from the moscow airport. The little goldfish just got swallowed.
3) didn’t William Browder, now in hiding, explain all this? Wasn’t this the point of the Magnitsky Act?
4) didn’t we just install tariffs on everyone else’s aluminum?
5) When does the US qualify as a ‘vassal state’?
6) and how does any of this benefit the republicans?
I shudder to think.
17
The president is obviously in Putin’s pocket, but I didn’t expect the GOP controlled Senate to take up residence there as well. I really don’t know what to expect next, but it ain’t gonna be good.
8
While Mnuchin works overtime to help Trump satisfy his debts to Putin, and as we look towards 2020, it bears mentioning that former California attorney general Kamala Harris, who has recently thrown her hat into the presidential ring, could have prosecuted Mnuchin over numerous foreclosure law violations — and she chose not to.
How different would our relationship with Russian gangsters be today, if Mnuchin had been made to suffer consequences for breaking the law back in 2013?
It is terrible how these gangsters all scratch each other's backs at the expense of the public, and at the expense of public trust in law and order. The corruption is rank and endemic.
6
While women, children, and the disabled face loss of their homes due to the shutdown, Russian oligarchs who worked so successfully to sabotage our democracy are rewarded by Trump and his Russo Republicans to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The shutdown is a facade, a step not taken by the GOP when it had total control of Congress. Trump's real purpose is to undo our nation.
Boss Vladimir must be very pleased with his Kremlin by the Potomac.
14
The oligarchs and the plutocrats colluded to loot Russia. Jeltzin was helpful. They are one of a kind, a number of Trump's friends were doing business in Russia. One must wonder if Putin is as corrupt as Trump is, Putin did make many enemies among his oligarchs.
2
Every day and in every way, this "president" and the GOP never fail to amaze me just how far from our democratic ideals they have strayed!
10
Conservatives have always been the party of wealth,, but now they are the party of stealth resulting in selling America to the highest bidder.
7
Time to count up the Rep Senators who voted no and ask them do you really want to stay with a party that has turn to the Russians for lobbying money? Time to change parties and end this madness.
9
One has to ask Why does the Trump Administration want to protect Deripaska? Why are so many Republicans just going along? Forget all the other stuff for a minute, just ask yourself this question. As they say in NY something not Kosher here.
8
So basically the letter that Munuchin provided to congress lied about the restructuring of the company and in the end Deripaska will still control the company?
9
The real question will be how many shares Murdoch, Hannity and Coulter got.
10
Meanwhile Canada is in a fight with China, because the American government is accusing a Chinese company to do not comply with US sanction against Iran and ask to extradite a Chinese national to the US. Thanks a lot President Trump.
6
Let us never forget that McConnell refused to bring bills passed by the House to reopen the government and stop of the pain of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. While at the same time pushes to lift sanctions on Deripaska.
Let us never forget that trump reneged on numerous commitments to spending bills, yet pushes to get more money into hands of his Russian handlers (via Mnuchin in this instance).
Let us never forget the 5 meetings between trump and Putin. With no witnesses, no notes.
Let us never forget Helsinki where trump denounced our intelligence agencies while believing Putin during a press conference seen around the world.
Let us never forget that trump, his administration, McConnell & majority of GOP support Putin & his oligarchs while throwing Americans under the bus.
Let us never forget trump & McConnell are traitors to the USA.
16
I fear that WW3 is already well underway, and the American people are losing.
11
Trump and his minions are willing to let almost one million Federal workers go unpaid, causing untold havoc in their lives, while giving away hundreds of millions of dollars to white collar criminals around the world. That's all you need to know about the current regime in Washington. I'm beginning to feel how "le peuple" felt under Louis XVI with our effete, corrupt would-be monarch. Let him suffer a similar ending.
11
I guess we know what the GOP representatives were doing in Moscow on July 4, 2018, and Sept. 11, 2018. Getting their marching orders.
13
Democrats need an active PR campaign in every state of the 42 corrupt GOP senators who voted to lift the sanctions. From now to election day!
6
Lying to Congress is a felony. Failing to disclose material information is fraud. Misrepresenting facts is fraud. Both are lying to Congress. This should be referred to the FBI and there should be a revote. We need to know how venal the Senate Republicans are.
9
What a traitorous Republican Party we have in our midst.
That big talker Mitt Romney, who wrote a self-serving anti Trump op-ed before he took his Senate seat, and who dressed down President Obama about the threat Russia posed to the US in the presidential debate in 2012, is exhibit A in voting for Trump, the Russians and Putin in voting to lift sanctions on Deripaska last week.
What a dereliction of duty.
Why do Romney and McConnell and the rest of the Republicans who voted to lift sanctions put Russian interests ahead of US interests?
What a cowardly group of quislings.
120
@V
Perhaps our dear politicians are getting benis from the oligarchs? Blavatsky did give one million for the inauguration.
How much are the Russian oligarchs “donating” to our government officials, openly as in the 1m for the inauguration, or secretly, as in off shore accounts and gifts...perhaps Congress should investigate? Or are they all in on it?
12
I concur, the Republican Party, specifically Senator Romney and Senate Republicans have failed the U.S. miserably in voting to lift sanctions on Mr. Deripaska, et.al; With this new information is there time for a Senate re-vote? If not, what are we to do?
2
I would not assume that Trump’ s compliance with Putin is exclusive.
I have come to believe that Putin is starting to call the shots of the Republican Party which understands that it can not hold on to power without their “help” .
If one read today’s profile of McConnell and believes he and his party are interested in anything other than power by any means possible then you are sorely mistaken.
107
@JL Our country is in very deep trouble. It is becoming clearer each day.
10
so it begins. Next up? The Magnitsky Act. Well, maybe not next. Trump has to prepare the public (us) for that move that he promised Putin. Then, as promised, Putin will destroy the tape and even allow him to build the hotel. Really! Putin promised! They even linked pinkies and everything!
40
@rjon
The US needs, along with LNG, spiritual guidance from Russia; along with advice on budgeting. This particular Administration, and GOP, need sames instruction on court staffing.
2
@rjon How do we know Putin is as corrupt as Trump? Trump the plutocrat was dealing with the Russian oligarchs, they could have hacked the e-mails too.
1
So far, Deripaska’s 35% in Rusal has grown by about $3B since Mnuchin announced this deal.
Meanwhile, 800,000 government workers making around $50K annuallyremain unpaid.
Who does our government represent?
128
How convenient for House Republicans now that they get to look like the caring patriotic party when voting against things like lifting needed sanctions always knowing that their crew in the Senate will not, hence covering their bacon.
The Democrats needed the Senate to insure Trump didn't/doesn't do any more damage to this nation. So sad how so many Americans will vote against America if you just dangle a slogan and a charlatan in front of them.
51
The Trump administration— the gift that keeps on giving ... to Moscow.
72
What’s funny or not funny at all is that as stupid as Donald Trump is it seems like he’s playing Chess to America’s Chinese checkers. What it shows is that if you’re an American president and you are willing to break the law you can use the power within the presidency to thump your nose at our laws and the world, as long as you have a big bunch of wimps in one of the houses like the Republicans do with the Senate.
It’s time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.
41
Do a find/replace using Trump/Obama on this article, set the calendar back 30 months, present it to every Republican member of the Senate and House, and then take cover while the dust settles.
30
What these letters express is terrible frustration and helplessness. It’s like having a nightmare in which Russia and the United States are becoming a single country, and the authorities, who were supposed to protect us, are in league with the criminals.
60
Just as Russian oligarchs forcibly took their nation's wealth for themselves, they are conspiring with American kleptocrats and Republican politicians to spit up America's far greater wealth. Too many voters remain oblivious.
63
No....!
Really?
Another Russian making a bundle off Trump?
Now, how do you suppose that happened...?
39
Would this have happened if Chief Justice John Roberts didn't orchestrate the Citizens United decision?
58
@NemoToad, no it would not. We would be in much better shape as a nation had the SCOTUS not made the error it made in the Citizens United case.
The only fix is for Democrats to win control of the Senate and rewrite the corporate law to eliminate "person" status from corporations and eliminate PACs. If the law is changed, the SCOTUS decision is rendered moot.
55
@NemoToad
You are right. So how do we change this now? Is SWLibrarian's suggestion the best bet?
Yes, our nation has been in big trouble since Citizens United. (United? It galls me that the decision has such a name.)
5
@SWLibrarian
If corporations are people, I'd really love to see the entire Board of Directors arrested for fraud..Buffet, too.
Put them through the criminal justice system (the real one, not the one reserved for the wealthy) and this nonsense will stop.
4
The US Senate lifts sanctions on this Russian crook, but it cannot consider a clean bill to restart the US government?
99
Got to love the NYT’s characterization of Deripaska is a “bit” player in the Russia investigation. Actually, a very big bit. Manafort’s willingness to volunteer his otherwise mercenary services gratis to the Trump campaign was entirely motivated by his debt owed to that oligarch. A debt derived from Manafort’s “disappearance” of millions of dollars Oleg entrusted with the very untrustworthy Manafort. Manafort is ground zero for “collusion “.
More importantly, sanctions relief was the coveted “quid” that Putin and his band of oligarchs wanted in exchange for “quo” of campaign support promised at the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. Manafort while attending the meeting scribbled some notes which included reference to the very same Deripaska, the same guy Manafort offered campaign briefings to.
Maybe Putin betting his money on Trump was long shot, maybe no one believed Trump could win.
But long shots pay off, and the cost for Russian interference was nominal compared to the potential payoff. For Deripaska it has paid off more than a little “bit.”
69
Just how much more evidence do we need to call this what it is?
Treason.
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"But a binding confidential document signed by both sides suggests that the agreement the administration negotiated with the companies controlled by the oligarch, Oleg V. Deripaska, may have been less punitive than advertised."
The administration has a binding agreement with oligarchs. Sorry folks, it's a done deal. And Trump says he's really tough on Russia. Fox News and Trump voters believe him. Next he'll declare that Putin has to take on the burden of Crimea being a part of Russia.
32
I'm sure this is all part of the deal that Trump struck with Putin. Trump is a walking, talking disaster, and the fact that he actually was elected as our president is beyond shocking. I blame the republicans, especially Mitch McConnell. for letting Trump corrupt our country and our government. Trump was and is one of the most corrupt, amoral people in America and unless you've had your head stuck in an inconvenient place for the past 20 years, you should know it too. Nothing Trump does surprises me. I can't believe that the GOP members of Congress are just lying down and looking the other way while Trump walks all over them and the American people. We can't afford another 2 years of Trump, or any republican for that matter, as our president.
73
Can we now have some investigative coverage into who stands to gain financially by building this "wall" monument? (Aside from the Stain himself; that goes without saying. He is always first in line; that's the "art of the deal.")
40
Let's bring back Senator McCarthy to investigate Trump and his entire administration.
30
Everything Trump does is a win for Putin and the oligarch criminals. Trumps entire administration is a criminal enterprise. The fact that republicans allow this to continue shows the America has lost one of its major parties to the Russian mob.
85
How much evidence do we need that Trump is Putin's poodle? Deripaska is a crony of Putin, who probably owns a huge chunk of the three companies ostensibly headed by Deripaska. Putin has long desired to have sanctions lifted, especially the Magnitsky Act sanctions imposed for his murder of the man of the same name. The lifting of sanctions on "Deripaska's" companies frees up millions of dollars at Putin's disposal and proves that Trump has now enlisted Mnuchin and the Treasury Department in his ever widening web of corruption. The rot in D.C. stinks to high heaven.
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And TrumpChristian Mike, having sought counsel from Alternate Jesus, has pronounced the deal to be righteous.
40
Oleg V. Deripaska is just too big to fail and too big to face sanctions. Haven't we seen this before?
31
Let's not forget that Mitt Romney voted for his deal when a "no" vote for him could have come close to preventing it. In 2020, I hope it's remembered that Mitt Romney never fails to show weakness on matters of principle.
105
It's beginning to look more like Russian influence is using Trump for their personal gain and less likely that Trump is getting anything in return other than legal bills.
I'm betting Trump will be claiming bankruptcy after he get's the boot from office and he'll need deep Russian pockets to keep the family name on their buildings.
33
Boy am I surprised. Trump kowtowing to the Russians? Surely there must be some reasonable explanation.
68
Is this really a surprise to anyone? We could see this coming as soon as the possible lifting of sanctions was announced.
Will we EVER get an answer about who else besides Trump and Manafort has been funded by the Russians? Mnuchin? Pence? McConnell? Rohrbacher? Nunes? Why else is there not one iota of questioning from the ENTIRE Republican party?
My hunch is that it's all funneled through the NRA.
Meanwhile, our nation is being torn apart over things like a doctored video of opposing protesters facing off.
Putin's laughing his way to world dominance....
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Last week, the GOP illustrated exactly where their loyalties lies. They proved that they are not just traitors to America, but enforced the idea that Putin has infiltrated the entire Republican party.
The GOP moved fast to pay off Oleg Deripaska by easing the sanctions against his companies, making him even stronger than ever in Russian Oligarch circles.
Unfortunately, they don't show the same fealty to the American people. Mitch McConnell & the GOP have gone 32 days ignoring the pleas of 800,000 federal workers to stop using their jobs as pawns. Instead, old Mitch bows to the madman in the White House who ascended to his throne with a little help from Putin.
Mitch McConnell & the rest of the GOP are just as compromised as Trump. They solidified their place in history as Putin puppets.
I am scared for our country.
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Another win for Putin? Counting each tactical triumph is shortsighted. Putin merely extends his one big win--over our own United States
27
It's not a secret anymore why Trump is favorable to anything Russian. Money first; country maybe #2.
37
@Wayne #2 is Trump, #3 is family, country maybe #4, but I doubt it.
10
So, Trump is being tough on Russia. Uh huh.
30
A great deal for Deripaska, Putin and - Trump! Whoever is supporting this on the US side must be getting a big commission.
41
Russian pay off to Trump is more like it.
19
"Score that as a win for Putin," says McFaul. Also a win for Deripaska, who was far more than a "bit" player in the sordid sagas of Russian meddling in our election.
And now, according to reports on MSNBC last night, a Russian escort lies in prison because of her taping of conversations overheard on Deripaska's yacht indicating conversations about US-Russian relations and "the US election." She may be kept there years, with nobody to advocate on her behalf except for a Russian dissident, himself a frequent target of the Putin government.
What this all means for Americans, is yet another example of the Trump administration
doing the bidding of the Russian government.
Thank you Ken Vogel for pursuing this issue. It does nothing to lessen my concern about the unholy alliance between the president and Vladimir Putin.
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Meanwhile Canadian steel and aluminum is subject to tariffs under the pretense of national security.
The absurdity of it all would almost be funny if it wasn't so outrageous.
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So did the so-called "Sec of the Treasury" lie to Congress? Need Justice investigation here too
64
The flip side of this sordid tale is that the Trump administration has imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada on the basis of "national security" concerns. Deripaska's company, Rusal, is one of the biggest global producers of aluminum, and is closely associated with the Putin government--they guy who authorized a coordinated attack on the US during the last election.
Meanwhile, Canada continues to detain the CFO of the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, at the request of the US government. This has already resulted in the retaliatory detaining of several Canadians living and working in China.
Maybe it's time Canada play hardball with Trump? Drop the aluminum and steel tariffs or Ms. Wanzhou is released from detention.
Figure out who your real allies are, Mr. Trump. They may not always be there for you when your country needs them.
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@Norman
Country Shmuntry. The only measurement parameter here is what benefits The Donald. Be sure that all of this does benefit him.
18
@Norman A simplistic solution to the mess that Canada finds itself in. Releasing Meng Wanzhou or threatening to release her as a bargaining chip undercuts the whole notion of the rule of law and politicizes the courts. that may be OK in China -- and the U.S. these days? -- but it is not a road Canada should follow.
3
@Distant Observer, I actually agree with you in principle.
The problem, as other people have suggested, is not just with Trump. The problem is that there are far too many (mostly) GOP Senators and Members of Congress who are happy to sit on the sidelines, or express their "concern" over Trump--while voting for his proposals in government. The "fence sitters", assuming they can be swayed by reason, need to be jolted out of their Trump stupor and back to reality.
Trump, as far as I'm concerned, is a lost cause. He is clear compromised by Russia.
15
We simply must find out what influences this government is suspect to and how much money is flowing between the political parties and Russia. It’s way more than just Trump. To our folly we’ve turned a blind eye for too long.
49
It's true that this is not quite the stuff of banana republics. This is much worse, because it has all of the trappings of legality and respectability, when the outcome is the same. Deripaska will be able to scrape together the controlling interests for the companies that he wishes to keep under his control, and they will continue to do the bidding of him and his good friend Putin. This looks like window dressing for business as usual. I'm willing to believe that Mnuchin is not explicitly in the pocket of Russia and its oligarchs, but that just means that he's doing this for free at the behest of Trump, who is hopelessly compromised.
Trump has captured enough of the electorate with his lies to get voted in, and money has captured the rest of the system.
We no longer have the option to look the other way and enjoy what material comforts this corrupted system can still provide to those of us who don't control it. The malign forces that actually control the levers of power in Russia and the United States will not simply continue to obscenely enrich those at the top. They are going to make some blunder or take a deliberate course of action that will upend our system, and while they continue to profit by picking like vultures at the pieces of the system they are destroying, millions will suffer.
54
The Treasury Department recommend lifting sanctions that hurt American companies.
14
@William Case Please clarify. What sanctions are you talking about? You say "recommend", as if they are doing something already. What does this have to do with the sanctions being eased for the Russian oligarch?
5
This is how the president operated in his private life and continues to operate. He declared bankruptcy numerous times to avoid paying his bills and continually stiffed subcontractors. His family became wealthier by avoiding paying their fair of income taxes.
Corruption is obvious to every one except the hard core supporters of Russia and our president.
The reason for his lying about relations with Russia is now becoming apparent. He has something to hide. Mr Mueller, keep doing your job. The voters want to hold this president accountable. It seems that the president wants to become an oligarch like his Russian friends.
59
I am alarmed at how much Russia is in control of our government. What is even more frightening is how I've been dismissing my suspicions about the GOP as being too cynical is all being proven true.
65
The Trump Administration should be recused from any diplomacy, financial deal, or policy making with Russia until the Mueller investigation or impeachment proceedings against Trump have concluded. He is actively using American tax dollars to benefit Russian operatives and oligarchs. This is treason. We also need to see Trump's taxes. No wonder Trump doesn't want to open the government. Wall indeed.
111
Senate Republicans led by Mitch McConnell voted to lift US sanctions against the business empire of KGB Putin's buddy, $billionaire Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, of whom the US Treasury said "has been accused of threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering." But Republicans will not even hold a simple vote to reopen the United States Government for the people of America which includes the US Treasury. Why do Republicans hate America?
184
@JFK the question should be why did the American people vote to keep the Republicans in charge of the senate in the 2016 election knowing how they changed the rules to seat two right-wing justices on the high court, and how they swore an allegiance to Trump over country?
50
The American people didn’t, but small states with uneducated populations did, since they are vastly over represented in the Senate.
47
@Andrew Two "small states"--Nevada and Arizona--however, replaced Republican senate seats with Democrats. Four small red states went the other way, making for a Republican gain of two seats. Given the fact that there were so many more Democratic senate seats than Republican at issue in the 2018 elections, the "blue wave" also affected the Senate, and not just the 40 pick-ups in the House of Representatives.
Trump and his supporters like to exaggerate and distort the meaning of the Republican gain in the Senate in order to undercut and deny the significance of the Democratic sweep of the 2018 elections. We should be careful not to go along with Trump's false analysis of the Senate outcomes.
10
Treason is the word that springs to mind. I am deeply grateful for the investigative reporting involved here. As with the 2016 election, American citizens were unaware of the deep current of Russian interference in the election, thanks in part to Sen. McConnell's refusal to let the FBI inform the public.
Now this. The Trump officials and the Republican senators who approved this deal seem to place the interests of Russia above those of the United States. The hundreds of millions of dollars of debts that are forgiven here are a payoff.
Why would Sen. Romney who spoke out strongly against Russia once approve this deal? McConnell and other Republicans accepted close to $10 million in campaign donations from Russian oligarchs.
Around 2010, it seems there was a sea change in the GOP, and it became much more Russophile. From Orly Taitz, the conspiracy theorist born in the U.S.S.R., to Trump, the birther lie spread throughout the Republican base with the speed of an organized disinformation campaign. In 2016, the smears against Hillary Clinton polluted social media and elsewhere, much generated by the Kremlin.
You have to wonder, who is compromised by Russian money, and who is compromised by Russian kompromat in the Republican Party from top to bottom.
Something is rotten in the state of the GOP.
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@SMB Thank you for stating it so clearly. Yes, I
think it only a matter of time before a vivid picture of
Russian (and other) financial leverage over members
of the Senate and the House emerges that helps to explain
the shameful and more conduct of key GOP officials. Why
would we think that members of Congress would be any
less vulnerable (or receptive) to diirty Russian money and
or threats? In this scenario one also imagines that Trump
would know which Senators are most vulnerable, increasing
his leverage over them. Trumphoma, surely, a malignancy
in the body politic, not just Russia flu.
47
@SMB Perhaps it is time to send Dear Comrad emails to the Republican Senators that sided with Putin & Deripaska to lift the sanctions. I already called my Republican Senator Pat Toomey and left a message about how I felt about his support for the above mentioned Russians.
28
This was the stuff of 50’s movies but now it appears that the President and the Republican Party are just Putin puppets. What would Joe McCarthy say?
58
Confidential side letters to a law?
Signed by the government, read Mnuchin, and the sanctions target?
There is quite obviously nothing in US politics that is not for sale.
Such things do not even exist in classic banana republics.
83
So how are the kickbacks distributed?
60
@Don
No kompromat gets released?
9
Why won't Mitch McConnell bring up the bill in the senate? Is it because he also is compromised and took money from Russian interests? He rather let 800,000 federal employees remain unpaid then continues sanctions on a Russian who gave him money. This shows you where is loyalties lie.
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/putins-proxies-helped-funnel-millions-gop-campaigns
176
Mitch McConnell’s connection to Deripaska’s money is even tighter than that. The $3.5 million to McConnell’s campaign funds came from Len Blavatnik, who donated $1 million through a company he controls to the committee that funded Mr. Trump’s inaugural festivities. Blavatnik is reported to be one of Deripaska’s business partners in Rusal.
134
@Tom Sz.
Thanks for the lead - just read this article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/why-is-warner-music-group-owner-len-blavatnik-russia-probe-1150550
1
Always. always, always remember that Trump and his cronies are proposing this. It is McConnell and the Republicans that are giving it a full backing of the US Senate. It is very clear they care not what the President of the US does, nor what Russia does. We know what is in it for Trump and Manafort, etc. But what exactly is in it for Mitch? Politicians do not sell out for nothing. And there is no question. They did sell out. Washington is beginning to look more and more like Moscow every day. Someone had to replace Rohrabacher.
147
@walking man
They'd rather protect Trump in order to stay in power?
1
Russian controls how much of the United States of America economy, and China controls how much of the United States of America economy? 99 % perhaps? And how many decades has Donald Trump and his family been employed by these two communist countries?
51
When they look back on this time in our history, future generations will be astonished that the American people refused to connect the dots between the Trump administration and Russian oligarchs. What could be more obvious? The President has been in business with them for years. They helped him get elected. He’s using the office of the President to further enrich himself and them. Meanwhile, our own burgeoning American oligarchy has hijacked our political system using the simple, time tested practices of fear mongering, race-bating, and divide and conquer. Everything that makes us look away from this essential truth—walls, shutdowns, memes—just allows them to put more of our money in their pockets.
267
@SDLeon Yes, I think if there ARE to be any future generations to survive. We, the present day people, have to figure out how to identify and counter the chaos and instability strategies and tactics that are working so well against us.
8
@SDLeon "Everything that makes us look away from this essential truth—walls, shutdowns, memes—just allows them to put more of our money in their pockets. "
Exactly. The outrage that would normally be focused on marches and demonstrations is dissipated in the onslaught of lesser insults. We are in shock.
6
No facts. No commitments. A way out for debts.
Sounds like a trump fantasy deal.
Putins investment is paying dividends.
By the aluminium bucket load.
Winning.
For Russia.
112
Just the tip of the iceberg of either incompetence on the part of Trump acolytes or strategic actions to slowly weaken American democracy in favor of rule by oligarchs, of whom Donald Trump is a major wannabe. Where are the responsible Republicans?
65
This fraudulent attempt to punish as Russian oligarch is entirely consistent with the general fraudulence of the Trump administration. But now that the full extent of Trump’s crimes are about to be exposed, we need to be sure his co-conspirators in the GOP will be held accountable for protecting the worst traitor in American history. They may be defiant now, but eventually Republicans will have to admit that they had full consciousness of Trump’s criminality. In fact, the evidence of their guilt is already at hand. Go back and review all the terrible things that Republicans like Graham, Cruz, and Rubio once said about Trump, and their remarks have proven all too true. And then there is McConnell, who ignored what American intelligence reported about Russian interference in order to protect candidate Trump from suspicions which are now sure to be vindicated. Trump should face the severest justice for his crimes; those who have knowingly supported him in the commission of his crimes should face it, too.
92
Of course Deripaska will benefit. Recall that Manafort was in significant debt to Deripaska when he became chairman of the Trump campaign. This is in part to satisfy this debt and appease Deripaska and Putin. It also likely ensures continued silence from Deripaska, Manafort, and Putin.
More difficult to manage will be the fact that the Trump Tower Moscow project would have moved ahead using a sanctioned bank, VTB or Genbank. Putin had the goods on Donald before he became the Republican nominee.
The Republicans did not vet Donald at all. Had they done anything to check him out, they would have seen that he was an incompetent corrupt swindler who was already compromised.
181
@NJLatelifemom
Sadly, the evidence repeatedly tells us McConnell doesn’t care as long as the GOP march to destroy our representative democracy for their own interests continues.
DT may be the tumor but the cancer is the McConnell led GOP
Too often without thoughtful media scrutiny
27
The challenge for US democracy: How to translate these intricacies into a form easily digestible for an entertainment-addicted political culture. It takes effort to understand the significance of what's reported here. How many will bother?
72
@GKJames It's very complexity is enough to demonstrate the fulfillment of lifting sanctions against Deripaska. Proponents can say - "Well, you just don't understand it". Why would there even be ANY 'negotiations'? Just by co-incidence, at the same time this 'amnesty' is granted, the Russian Sparrow gets extradited from Thailand and is thrown into a Moscow dungeon.
16
The Supreme Court has decreed that U.S. oligarchs are entitled to purchase U.S. elections by determining that money is speech and that corporations are entitled to the rights of 'personage'. The cast of characters exposed in this Treasury department sanctions 'shell game' confirm that oligarchs are fungible; U.S. elections are, indeed, a global yard sale.
303
@john
“The Supreme Court has decreed”
To be clear, it was the Republicans on the Supreme Court, 5-4, enabled by “no difference between the parties “ “Green” party Nader voters in Florida (With Gore instead of Bush the Court would have been 6 to 3 Democrats and so Citizens United would have been rejected)
66
@john
The damage that has been done by the republicans in our Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court will take decades to repair. Our reputation and strength have been destroyed.
29
@john
We must work to undo the "Citizens United" decision by the Supreme Court and to prevent further evisceration of our democracy by corruption caused by equating money with speech.
32