Erik Prince, under fresh scrutiny in the Russia probe over the Seychelles meeting, is hosting a fundraiser for …. none other than Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, perhaps the most Kremlin-friendly member of Congress. (via @rebeccagberg) https://t.co/tbeaYGJBdm
— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) March 8, 2018
Just one targeted meteorite — is that too much to ask?
… Prince and Rohrabacher have been friends and mutual supporters for years: Prince interned for the California congressman on Capitol Hill in 1990, and Rohrabacher vigorously defended Prince when Blackwater faced congressional scrutiny during President George W. Bush’s administration.
The fundraising event, slated for March 18 at Prince’s Middleburg, Virginia residence, is expected to be attended by GOP Reps. Tom Garrett Jr. and Dave Brat, and Lt. Colonel Oliver North, according to an invitation obtained by CNN. Tickets start at $1,000 for the general reception, although donors paying $2,700 will also be invited to attend a VIP event beforehand…
Rohrabacher, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has been the target of attacks by Democrats and some Republicans for his unusually robust support for Russia. In the past, he has dismissed claims of Russia’s human right violations as “baloney,” publicly defended WikiLeaks and argued that the DNC was not hacked by Russia.
Rohrabacher met with the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, for a private interview in December 2017.
He is now preparing for a challenging reelection fight, with nine Democrats currently jockeying to replace him in his southern California district.
For what it’s worth, according to The Hill, the GOP is already pretending they barely ever knew the guy…
… The congressman’s name surfaced again in connection with Russia when Richard Gates, a former campaign aide to President Trump, pleaded guilty in late February to lying about a 2013 meeting between Rohrabacher, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a lobbyist on Ukraine.
While recent polling shows that a majority of voters nationwide are concerned about election interference from abroad, voter backlash to Russia’s 2016 election meddling hasn’t pulled in individual members of Congress — except for Rohrabacher…
“He’s always been the odd man out. Now people have a reason to care [about Russia] and they have a direct way to tie Rohrabacher to it,” Fred Brown, a former Republican National Committee (RNC) official, told The Hill…
Russiagate Open Thread: Prince Parties with Putin’s Favorite CongressmanPost + Comments (116)