Is it possible that Donald Trump is smart enough to do the laser-sharp damage to the United States government that has already occurred? Sure, he brought the swamp creatures into his cabinet to gnaw through the core of the very agencies they have been leading. Still, something does not add up, and the public is about to find out what that is.
When it came time for POTUS’ inauguration parties, the Donald invited a number of billionaires with strong ties to Russia, and of course, that meant President Vladimir Putin. They came to very “exclusive, invitation-only receptions,” according to ABC News.
The plot only thickens each day. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been hot on the trail of Russia’s attack on the nation’s election and its possible ties to the Trump campaign or even Trump himself. Now, things have begun to move faster.
The party-going oligarchs came into their fortunes right after the Soviet Union folded in on itself and transformed into the present-day Russia. The U.S. even sanctioned one of these heavy-duty Russian party-goers, meaning he was not allowed into the U.S.
Trump had to make special arrangements for him to come to the party. The newly-minted POTUS’s invitation to the oligarchs was strange, because normally, the invitations have been only extended to a president’s political allies and top donors.
Former senior national security official, Matthew Olsen, now works as an ABC News consultant. He called these invitations “very concerning:”
‘This reflects a Russian strategy of gaining access to our political leaders at a time when they are just forming a government. They don’t need to be spies in the James Bond sense. They are powerful people with significant wealth who are in a position to exert influence on U.S. policy makers. And they’re in a position to report back to Russian intelligence services on what they’re able to learn.’
Stephen Kerrigan planned President Barack Obama’s 2009 and 2013 inaugural celebration. He called the Russian oligarchs attendance “incredibly unusual:”
‘Particularly if they were going to be within arm’s reach of the President, they went through an intensive vetting process.’
The Russian billionaire, Victor Vekselberg, was the one sanctioned the U.S. Treasury. Mueller’s special agents halted him for questioning when he deplaned at a New York airport. The sanction was:
‘For operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy.’
Velkselberg’s American cousin, Andrew Intrater, sat with Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen and family at one of these very special inaugural parties.
Other foreign industrialists attended. There was Leonard Blavatnik from the Ukraine, who had both British and American citizenship.
Russian-born American music/nuclear energy mogul, Alexander Shustorovich was there partying, too. The RNC (Republican National Committee) had to give back an earlier six-figure political contribution, because Shustorovich had deep ties with Russia.
Alexander Mashkevitch is a metals and mining oligarch born in the former Soviet Union received an invitation. Then, of course, there was the Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. Most Russians in the ambassador positions have been government spies.
Featured Image via CBS News’ YouTube Screen Grab.
