# Tangled web connects Russian oligarch money to GOP campaigns **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 5, 2017, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817 "2017-08-05T00:55:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/1 "2017-08-05T00:55:32Z")
Anyone surprised by this? > **[GOP campaigns took $7.35 million from oligarch linked to Russia](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/03/gop-campaigns-took-7-35-million-from-oligarch-linked-to-russia/)** > > Party loyalty is often cited as the reason that GOP leaders have not been more outspoken in their criticism of President Donald Trump and his... > [@](#): > > Donald Trump and the political action committees for Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham, John Kasich and John McCain accepted $7.35 million in contributions from a Ukrainian-born oligarch who is the business partner of two of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s favorite oligarchs and a Russian government bank. > > During the 2015-2016 election season, Ukrainian-born billionaire Leonid “Len” Blavatnik contributed $6.35 million to leading Republican candidates and incumbent senators. Mitch McConnell was the top recipient of Blavatnik’s donations, collecting $2.5 million for his GOP Senate Leadership Fund under the names of two of Blavatnik’s holding companies, Access Industries and AI Altep Holdings, according to Federal Election Commission documents and [OpenSecrets.org](http://OpenSecrets.org). ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/2 "2017-08-05T01:17:16Z")
He must really love the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/3 "2017-08-05T01:25:18Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Anyone surprised by this? > > [GOP campaigns took $7.35 million from oligarch linked to Russia](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/03/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-gop-campaigns) I know. How horrible it is that a US citizen legally contributes money to GOP campaigns. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/4 "2017-08-05T01:30:17Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I know. How horrible it is that a US citizen legally contributes money to GOP campaigns. Which of course totally misses the point, but whatever. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/5 "2017-08-05T01:38:37Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I know. How horrible it is that a US citizen legally contributes money to GOP campaigns. I know. How horrible it is that a US citizen legally contributes money to Democratic Party campaigns. [FoxNews](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07/24/mueller-probe-meet-lawyers-who-gave-to-hillary-now-investigating-team-trump.html) > [@](#): > > President Trump’s tough criticism of Special Counsel Robert Mueller signals a renewed effort to challenge his investigators’ credibility over their track record of pro-Democratic political donations and other associations. > > There is no shortage of examples to fuel the president’s case. > > Of the 15 attorneys currently on staff for Mueller, at least seven have donated to Democratic candidates and campaigns, including Trump’s 2016 rival Hillary Clinton. The rest have not made political donations, according to federal records; and none of the attorneys on Mueller’s roster donated money to Trump. > “This is just a witch hunt—it’s all a hoax,” White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway told “Fox & Friends” last week after Trump criticized Mueller in a New York Times interview. “People should know what folks’ past motivations, and their political motivations are—these weren’t minor donations, these were significant donations by members of that team.” Bitch, bitch, bitch, whine, whine, whine. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/6 "2017-08-05T02:33:09Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I know. How horrible it is that a US citizen legally contributes money to Democratic Party campaigns. > [FoxNews](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07/24/mueller-probe-meet-lawyers-who-gave-to-hillary-now-investigating-team-trump.html) I agree, Mr. Blavatnik’s contributions certainly indicate that he is not politically neutral. He definitely prefers GOP over the Democrats. Would you agree that the seven Mueller’s attorneys that contributed to Democrats are also not politically neutral? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/7 "2017-08-05T02:47:05Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I agree, Mr. Blavatnik’s contributions certainly indicate that he is not politically neutral. He definitely prefers GOP over the Democrats. > > Would you agree that the seven Mueller’s attorneys that contributed to Democrats are also not politically neutral? I doubt there are many people who are politically neutral. I do believe that Mueller and the people he picked are quite capable of not letting their political views influence their work. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/8 "2017-08-05T02:53:41Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I doubt there are many people who are politically neutral. > > I do believe that Mueller and the people he picked are quite capable of not letting their political views influence their work. And it is just a coincidence that out of the 15, 7 contributed only to Democrats and Hillary and none contributed to Trump. Only one made a contribution to a Republican, but contributed much more to Democrats. Just a coincidence I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/9 "2017-08-05T03:16:29Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I agree, Mr. Blavatnik’s contributions certainly indicate that he is not politically neutral. He definitely prefers GOP over the Democrats. Do you feel that Blavatnik’s contributions were made independent of the views of the Russian government, in agreement with the Russian government’s views, or in opposition to the Russian government’s views? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/10 "2017-08-05T03:19:51Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > And it is just a coincidence that out of the 15, 7 contributed only to Democrats and Hillary and none contributed to Trump. Only one made a contribution to a Republican, but contributed much more to Democrats. > > Just a coincidence I guess. I’m waiting for the conspiracy theory to be spelled out. Mueller’s gonna getcha… ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/11 "2017-08-05T03:26:53Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Do you feel that Blavatnik’s contributions were made independent of the views of the Russian government, in agreement with the Russian government’s views, or in opposition to the Russian government’s views? I can’t get into Mr. Blavatnik’s head. I know that he is a US citizen, and is entitled to legally contribute to any candidate in the US elections that he wants. Making insinuations that he contributes as he does due to Russian government’s views is disgusting. Is he a second-class citizen because he was born in Russia (or is it Ukraine)? Would you make the same insinuations about UK-born citizens? French-born? Iraqi-born? etc. etc. AFAIU, the Russian-born citizens in the US are pretty overwhelmingly (70-75%) [pro-Republican](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2016-10-06/in-brighton-beach-a-contradictory-love-for-trump) and have been so way before Trump. Do you also feel that their views are not “independent of the views of the Russian government”? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/12 "2017-08-05T03:45:44Z")
These are _suspicions_, which may or may not be borne out by investigation. Suspicion does not require proof beyond a shadow of a doubt, that is reserved for an actual finding of guilt. (Traditionally, this must precede requisition of a rope and contracting a hangman.) But if there were no unproven suspicions to _begin_ with, justice would not be better served. Look at it this way: if a reputable and skilled investigator turns over every stone and finds nothing, you can assuredly look forward to a good long gloat. I promise to attend. I will read every word, and confine my comments to praise and approval. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/13 "2017-08-05T04:12:54Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > These are _suspicions_, which may or may not be borne out by investigation. Suspicion does not require proof beyond a shadow of a doubt, that is reserved for an actual finding of guilt. (Traditionally, this must precede requisition of a rope and contracting a hangman.) But if there were no unproven suspicions to _begin_ with, justice would not be better served. > > Look at it this way: if a reputable and skilled investigator turns over every stone and finds nothing, you can assuredly look forward to a good long gloat. I promise to attend. I will read every word, and confine my comments to praise and approval. There are no “suspicions” that can be proven in the article in the OP. None. There is nothing to “prove”. Nothing can be “investigated”. A US citizen who was born in Ukraine dared to contribute to some Republicans. Legally. That’s the “accusation”. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/14 "2017-08-05T04:20:36Z")
Wow. Are Trumpeters really THAT respectful of Russia? Like the ones that grew up in the Cold War like I did? There was a lot of reasons to hate those Ruskie-Red Wings from the '90s… 😃 Maybe it’s because Putin is richer and a bigger bully? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/15 "2017-08-05T04:58:20Z")
“Hockey inwented in Russia” - Chekhov ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/16 "2017-08-05T05:22:25Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I can’t get into Mr. Blavatnik’s head. I know that he is a US citizen, and is entitled to legally contribute to any candidate in the US elections that he wants. Making insinuations that he contributes as he does due to Russian government’s views is disgusting. Is he a second-class citizen because he was born in Russia (or is it Ukraine)? Would you make the same insinuations about UK-born citizens? French-born? Iraqi-born? etc. etc. So I guess that’s a vote for independent. Me, I question that. Not because of where Blavatnik was born. (Let me clear that up for you. He wasn’t born in Russia.) I question the independence of his political contributions because of his close financial connections with members of the Russian government. This is not an unusual situation; pretty much anyone doing significant business in Russia has to form alliances with Russian government officials. And the Russian government cuts off anyone from doing business in Russia is they oppose the Russian government. I don’t find acknowledging this to be disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/17 "2017-08-05T05:38:38Z")
Well, OK, he doesn’t oppose the Putin government, because they wouldn’t let him be a rich guy. Doesn’t mean he helps them, or anything! ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/18 "2017-08-05T06:13:49Z")
If he’s a legal citizen, then there would need to be more than this to be meaningful at all. You would need evidence that this was more than personal politics. I would be curious to know when the donation to Mitch McConnell was made? The key moment would, probably, be the GOP was deciding whether to back one of the normal candidates during the primaries or if they were going to bow out and give Trump the win. If the money came to McConnell right at that point, that would be damn suspicious. And, of course, I would wonder whether this is a donation that he would usually be able to afford? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/19 "2017-08-05T13:59:00Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > There are no “suspicions” that can be proven in the article in the OP. None. There is nothing to “prove”. Nothing can be “investigated”. A US citizen who was born in Ukraine dared to contribute to some Republicans. Legally. That’s the “accusation”. Funny how you have “suspicions” about 7 people who collectively probably didn’t come anywhere near the amount of political donations that he made, but none about this guy. Let me remind you: [QUOTE=Okrahoma] Would you make the same insinuations about UK-born citizens? French-born? Iraqi-born? etc. etc. [/QUOTE] Would _you_ make the same insinuations based on the political orientation of US-born citizens? Oh, right, you just did. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817/20 "2017-08-05T14:43:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So I guess that’s a vote for independent. > > Me, I question that. Not because of where Blavatnik was born. (Let me clear that up for you. He wasn’t born in Russia.) I question the independence of his political contributions because of his close financial connections with members of the Russian government. This is not an unusual situation; pretty much anyone doing significant business in Russia has to form alliances with Russian government officials. And the Russian government cuts off anyone from doing business in Russia is they oppose the Russian government. > > I don’t find acknowledging this to be disgusting. I’m sure he still has some friends/business in the Russian but looking at his Forbes summary, he sold off his stake in the big oil company he was part of in 2013. @Sage Rat, the guy seems a legit billionaire so I’m sure this has been affordable a long time. According to the same Forbes profile, he also donated $25 Million to Carnegie Hall in 2016. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-to-gop-campaigns/792817.md?page=2)