Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Chutkan laughs. Lauro sits back down.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Russiagate Open Thread: Hey, Remember Maria Butina?

Russiagate Open Thread: Hey, Remember Maria Butina?

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“Treason? Well, everybody does it!” — the mail-order-bride mating cry of the Amurkin Deplorable.

My week google-fu isn’t showing me any breaking news on Butina, but I assume MSNBC ran this clip yesterday for some reason beyond nostalgia…

Reader Interactions

53Comments

  1. 1.

    Mary G

    I will be so happy when “Russiagate” disappears from the post titles here, or at least comes up less often.

    “Squi” has talked to the FBI:

    Update via @PostKranish: FBI has also interview Chris Garrett, who dated Ford in high school and also attended the July 1, 1982, gathering, per Kavanaugh's calendar https://t.co/48V6ditXyy— Matea Gold (@mateagold) October 3, 2018

  2. 2.

    Mnemosyne

    @Mary G: u

    I’m still curious what Garrett’s role in this whole thing is. After Ed Whelan called him an attempted rapist via Tweet, Garrett went into lockdown mode. Did he not know that his old classmates were planning to frame him? Now that they tried it, will he stay loyal to them?

    (Sadly, the answer to the second question is probably “yes.” Because party trumps every other moral consideration for Republicans.)

  4. 4.

    Bill Arnold

    Dunno, but here are a few newish links:
    http://www.pravdareport.com/news/russia/politics/01-10-2018/141695-sentsov-0/
    https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/1047198875914784769
    http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/oct/02/nras-spending-is-way-down-in-the-2018-midterms-doe/
    https://112.international/ukraine-top-news/sentsov-not-be-exchanged-for-russians-kept-in-us-state-department-source-32774.html

    I still haven’t figured out the Maria Butina story, TBH.

  5. 5.

    Chetan Murthy

    Not one G-Town Prep boy (now man) has come forward to describe anything about what happened back then. Not. One. The number of women [both from the surrounding area & also Yale] who have come forward, and also Yale men, makes it a glaring absence.

    I’m starting to think that “Squi” was part of this rape culture.

    P.S. It touched me to see the way Dr. Ford worked so hard to not drag other people into the crosshairs with her. Refusing to name them, and merely assenting to the identification when forced. Giving excuses for why those others weren’t speaking up publicly. As opposed to the way Rapey-K just throws anybody to hand, under the goddamn bus.

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Maybe Butina was laundering the money between Russia and the NRA and they haven’t been able to find a new go-between?

    I was saying a couple of days ago that if I were Putin, I would let the Republicans twist in the wind for the midterms and let the Democrats take over the House and Senate. That would definitely guarantee that pretty much no action to block him could be taken for the next two years.

  7. 7.

    Cacti

    I don’t have a link handy, but I was reading somewhere earlier that the NRA has spent a lot less $$$ so far this election cycle.

    Funny how that would happen after comrade Butina got clapped in irons by the Mueller probe.

  8. 8.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Mnemosyne: I think there is a much bigger story than we have seen so far about Maria Butina, Russian money, the NRA, and Donald Trump’s campaign. McClatchy has put some effort into the story. I hope they are still working it.

  9. 9.

    Villago Delenda Est

    The NRA solidifies its well earned reputation as a terrorist organization that should be dealt with as one deals with Al Qaeda.

  11. 11.

    rk

    Trump mocks Christine Ford at a rally. I thought I’d lost the capacity to be shocked with this guy, but I am. I just feel really sad for her and for this country.

  14. 14.

    zhena gogolia

    @rk:

    I made myself watch it. I notice he isn’t trying to imitate her voice — even he realizes he’s doing something despicable, and by resisting the impulse to put on a whiny voice he thinks he’s being restrained.

  15. 15.

    B.B.A.

    @Amir Khalid: While the number of Americans with guns has leveled off (and may even be starting to shrink), the number of guns owned by Americans continues to grow as the “militias” grow their arsenals.

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    @B.B.A.:
    The impression I had was that the market was getting saturated with little if any room for growth, that major gunmakers were struggling to make a profit.

  17. 17.

    B.B.A.

    @Amir Khalid: Well, now that Obama can’t order the jackbooted thugs to grab your guns anymore, there’s no need to buy more, is there?

    The circularity of the argument “we need moar guns to stop the government from taking our guns away” has never occurred to these dipshits.

  21. 21.

    Adam L Silverman

    This is going to be interesting:

    Here’s the translation:

    He signed the Decree “On Annual National Programs under the auspices of the Ukraine-NATO Commission.

    Implementation of the Decree will allow bringing in a system and a mechanism for coordinating the activity of the executive authorities in the field of Euro-Atlantic integration in accordance with the current normative legal acts.

  23. 23.

    Mary G

    Obama, Oprah, trump & a kid are on a crashing plane There's only 3 parachutes Oprah says I'm the richest woman so I get 1. Trump says I'm potus so I get 1. Obama looks at the kid & says you're the future you take it. The kid says no we both get 1 cause trump picked up my book bag— ????? ? (@MissMolly3286) October 3, 2018

    My first laugh of the evening. Teenagers are exhausting.

  26. 26.

    Adam L Silverman

    What did Farago know and when did he know it?
    https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2018/04/robert-farago/ttag-changes-ownership-housekeeping/

    The world’s #1 most visited gun website, led by a guy who made himself into a celebrity in the 2nd Amendment absolutist community attending every meeting and trade show, had a grand total of three posts about Mariia Butina. One of them, by Farago, simply a picture of her swiped from WaPo. One, also by him, about the Russian junket. And one about Russian gun law changes.
    https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/11/dean-weingarten/russia-changes-law-allow-guns-carried-self-defense/
    https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/05/robert-farago/washington-post-nra-saf-russian-visits-tied-trump-softening-russia/maria-butina-courtesy-washingtonpost-com/
    https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/05/robert-farago/washington-post-nra-saf-russian-visits-tied-trump-softening-russia/

    And that’s it. Then in April 2018 he sells the site and just disappears.

  27. 27.

    Gozer

    @Adam L Silverman: I wonder if sales to demographics other than conservative, white men explains some of the increase? IIRC there was some speculation about more PoC, LGBT-Americans, and women purchasing firearms following the 2016 election, Charlottesville, etc.

  31. 31.

    GxB

    @rk: The only people who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind. If I were her, I’d wear his mockery as a badge of honor. Anyone who irritates that lumpen clod of shit on a big enough stage to get him to act like a six year old for the whole world to see is on to something. Exceptions noted for all the sniveling cowards of his own party. For me however, even they only lost my respect when they in turn groveled for his mercy.

    As for the fucking idiots that find it a hoot, who cares? They’re scum. We just need to do all we can to insure their opinions become a permanent minority.

  32. 32.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Matt McIrvin: I heard one that had a rabbi, a Texan, and a Mexican. There were only two parachutes and the Texan grabbed the rabbi’s talit (prayer shawl) bag.

  33. 33.

    Another Scott

    @Adam L Silverman: Farago ran TTAC (and seemed to do a good job there) before he suddenly sold it. Maybe that’s just what he does.

    Has anyone registered “TheTruthAboutBlockchain.com” yet?

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  35. 35.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Another Scott: He sold it to open the TTAG.

    And I have no idea. I just find it too coincidentally that he ups and disappears just as the Feds were closing in on Butina.

  36. 36.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Martin: I have no idea how the California law works or if the check is done through NICS or a state of California database.

  38. 38.

    hervevillechaizelounge

    @Mnemosyne:

    I find it really interesting Chris Garrett wound up teaching at a podunk school while his fellow Georgetown Prepsters became Masters of the Universe.

    I don’t think it’s coincidental that the bro with the least prestigious job ended up in Whelan’s cross-hairs.

  39. 39.

    Martin

    @Adam L Silverman: Part of Prop 63 was that it mandated that the CA DOJ process all background checks for firearms and ammo through NICS. It used to be a ‘may process through NICS’ and that changed to a ‘shall process’.

    There are other checks through state databases – hospital records, court records for restraining orders, domestic violence, etc. But every check also needs to go through NICS.

  40. 40.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    okay, I’m going back to kompromat

    @ joshtpm 1h1 hour ago
    Graham: Amy Klobuchar should apologize to Brett Kavanaugh.

  41. 41.

    Suzanne

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I am so fucking done today. I would rather rub shit in my hair than hear about TWPITW (The Worst Person In The World, guess who) mocking Christine Blasey Ford. One of my friends, a dude I previously thought was a good dude, tried to convince me that being falsely accused of rape/sexual assault, which he says he was, is as bad as being raped. I am not really inclined to share my experiences with anybody except for Mr. Suzanne, as I don’t really want them to become an excuse to dismiss my viewpoint as being irrational because of personal experience. So I did not.

  44. 44.

    guachi

    You guys see the latest about some unnamed guy (well, he’s named in the letter but it’s blacked out) who “doesn’t want to get involved” claims he dated Dr. Blasey Ford in the ’90s and she totally helped someone prepare for a polygraph. And she wasn’t afraid of flying and she also committed fraud on his credit card.

  45. 45.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @guachi: he dated Dr. Blasey Ford in the ’90s and she totally helped someone prepare for a polygraph.

    which is a totally normal thing to suddenly remember about a twenty year old relationship, and the fact that he felt the need to point out she cheated on him suggests he’s not at all bitter or has an agenda

  46. 46.

    Mnemosyne

    @Suzanne:

    Christ, what an asshole. That unfortunately is one of the things we’re up against: for most straight guys, the possibility of them being sexually assaulted is so far outside their experience that they have a hard time imagining it. But imagining that a vengeful ex would make a false accusation to mess up their lives? That’s easy for them to imagine, so that’s where their brain goes.

    I’m trying to think of a suitable comparison to show the degree of difference. Biopsy vs actual cancer treatment?

  47. 47.

    Aleta

    Not about Russia, though you can see it from there. (Excerpts from Anchorage Daily News about Kansas 2nd district race.)

    Days before Steve Watkins won the seven-candidate August primary, 40 local Republican leaders signed an open letter expressing concerns. State Sen. Steve Fitzgerald called him “a charlatan, a fraud and an opportunist,” though he now won’t criticize him. Trump won the district by nearly 17 percentage points in 2016, (but) Democrats see the seat as a prime opportunity. Democratic attorney and former Kansas House minority leader Paul Davis carried the district when he narrowly lost the 2014 governor’s race.

    Watkins … applied 11 times between 2002 and 2015 for the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, a payment to those who have lived in the state for a full year and say they intend to remain indefinitely. Property records show Watkins owns two condos in Alaska, purchased in 2005 and 2015, while the Topeka residence on his voter registration is rented. Public records show the 42-year-old Army veteran hadn’t lived in Kansas since he left high school — nearly two decades before returning to the state last year to run for Congress.

    Watkins’ campaign website calls him “an accomplished athlete and explorer.” … His 2015 expedition on the world’s tallest mountain was cut short by an earthquake in Nepal that killed nearly 8,900 people. Watkins’ website previously quoted Everest outfitter Guy Cotter as saying he relied on Watkins’ “heroic leadership amid the chaos.”

    Cotter told The Associated Press that he never said it and was unaware Watkins had put the quote on his campaign website. “There was not really anything heroic to be able to do. We were not there, where all the injured and dying people were, through that event. We were actually up on the mountain, so there was very little we could contribute.”

    Four-time Iditarod winner Jeff King saw Watkins’ entry this year (2018) as a stunt for his political campaign and Watkins’ self-portrayal as an adventurer as a “gigantic fallacy.” … Musher Tara Cicatello said Watkins’ chief concern after being forced to withdraw was the publicity he had lined up. He was on the phone talking about speaking engagements and left the dogs that had carried him more than 700 miles in the care of people who were already overwhelmed with other dogs, she said.

    “People were irritated with Steve because they were doing more work for his dogs than he was,” Cicatello said. “I don’t think he mistreated them. It just sounds like he was all about his campaign and the show of it than the actual doing of it.”

    The Kansas City Star reported that while Watkins claimed to have started a company and built it from scratch, in fact he joined an existing company as a contractor. To explain the discrepancy, Watkins said he helped create products and services for the company’s clients.

  48. 48.

    Suzanne

    @Mnemosyne:

    That unfortunately is one of the things we’re up against: for most straight guys, the possibility of them being sexually assaulted is so far outside their experience that they have a hard time imagining it.

    I also suspect that some of them are incel-adjacent enough that they can’t imagine that it is possible for some people to not enjoy intercourse under certain circumstances.

    Dude seriously said, “Well, I see rape victims who go on to live successful lives. Meanwhile, a false rape accusation can destroy a man’s marriage, career, and he’ll lose his children.”

    It’s always all about dudes and their feelings, isn’t it?

  49. 49.

    Mnemosyne

    Dude seriously said, “Well, I see rape victims who go on to live successful lives. Meanwhile, a false rape accusation can destroy a man’s marriage, career, and he’ll lose his children.”

    “Holocaust survivors were able to move on and build new lives after the war, but the lives of the poor Nazis were ruined! Clearly, the Nazis were the real victims of the Holocaust.”

  50. 50.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Suzanne: Christ, this is so dumb. Of course a false accusation can be bad and can ruin lives. Rape can ALSO ruin your life, and it has a huge amount of trauma to go with it. Including not being believed and publicly shit on if you try to get justice.

    Maybe your asshole friend can say “Man, false accusations are awful but actually being raped is worse” because that’s obviously correct? Cripes.

  52. 52.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Matt McIrvin: Henry Kissinger, proclaiming he’s “the smartest man in the world” as he launches himself out the door. The punch line from the kid: “We both have parachutes – the smartest man in the world jumped out with my book bag.” (I forget who was the last guy left. Maybe the Pope, maybe a priest, who knows.)

  53. 53.

    MoxieM

    Got myself a chocolate cake, yes I did. (I’m past baking). And sometimes it’s just the junky-junk food that you need. This place, this damned country. Sugar is a hell of a drug.

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