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Tag: kremlin
Hunter Biden

Busted Biden Informant -- And GOP Witness -- Had Contact With Top Kremlin Spies

The FBI informant who was indicted late last week for allegedly fabricating allegations about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter also reportedly had contact with officials in Vladimir Putin's regime, according to a new court filing.

Alexander Smirnov, 43, was charged last week with making false statements to federal authorities over his claim that both Joe and Hunter Biden solicited a $5 million bribe from Ukrainian company Burisma in exchange for protecting it from an investigation by the Ukrainian government. However, a new 28-page filing submitted in US District Court on Tuesday arguing for his continued pretrial detention suggests Smirnov may have had political motivations in concocting the alleged scheme.

"In December 2023 Smirnov reported to his handler about a recent overseas trip, where Smirnov attended a meeting with Russian Official 2, who Smirnov has described as a high-ranking member of a specific Russian intelligence service," read the filing, which was originally tweeted by Politico legal correspondent Kyle Cheney. "During this same trip, Smirnov apparently attended a separate meeting with Russian Official 1, the individual who controls groups that are engaged in overseas assassination efforts."

Revealingly, the filing said that Smirnov told his FBI handler that Russian intelligence officials obtained cell phone calls from "prominent US persons" that the Putin regime "may use as 'kompromat' in the 2024 election,' depending on who the candidates will be." The filing also read that Smirnov is "actively peddling new lies that could impact US elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November."

"Smirnov's contacts with Russian officials who are affiliated with Russian intelligence services are not benign," the DOJ argued in the filing. "The court should consider this conduct as well when evaluating his personal history and characteristics... In light of that fact there is a serious risk he will flee in order to avoid accountability for his actions."

Aside from his alleged fabrications about the Bidens, Smirnov has also been accused of lying about his finances. Even though he told the FBI he only had access to $1,500 in cash and another $5,000 in a savings account, the Tuesday filing read that he withdrew more than $1.7 million in cashier's checks between 2020 and 2022 in the name of "Avalon Group, Inc." It was not made clear from the filing where the money originated.

The lies Smirnov allegedly told make up the core of Republicans' arguments to impeach President Biden, with both House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-KY) both citing his work with the FBI as justification for their impeachment crusade. They have not yet dropped their efforts to impeach Biden despite the president's calls for them to do so in light of Smirnov's indictment.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

New Kremlin-Friendly Media Outlet Backed By Tech Mogul Singham

New Kremlin-Friendly Media Outlet Backed By Tech Mogul Singham

During the Cold War, Reagan and Goldwater Republicans were known for being scathing critics of the Soviet Union. And it wasn't uncommon for Democrats to bash the Kremlin in order to avoid being attacked by their GOP rivals as soft on Moscow.

But the rise of former President Donald Trump's MAGA movement has seen an abundance of Republicans expressing sympathy for President Vladimir Putin. "War Room" host Steve Bannon has praised Putin's anti-gay and "anti-woke" policies; Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) slammed the U.S. military as "woke" and "emasculated" while exalting Russia's military as a symbol of manliness. And critics of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson have lambasted him for repeatedly echoing Kremlin talking points during the invasion of Ukraine.

In a report published on May 29, the Daily Beast's William Bredderman examines the pro-Putin sympathies of BreakThrough News — an online media outlet associated with U.S.-based tech entrepreneur Neville Roy Singham. Unlike the many MAGA pundits sympathetic to the Kremlin, BreakThrough has welcomed participation from the left.

"Since it started posting to Instagram and YouTube in early 2020," Bredderman notes, "nearly all BreakThrough News' camera-facing personalities have been veterans of Kremlin-backed outfits."

Examples that Bredderman cites include Eugene Puryear (ex-Radio Sputnik) and Brian Becker, formerly of the now-defunct RT America. BreakThrough News has attracted both right-wing and left-wing critics of the Biden Administration's support of Ukraine during the conflict with Russia.

Singham is married to Code Pink co-founder Jodi Evans, whose organization has often criticized U.S. foreign policy from the left. Singham is also known for his left-of-center politics.

"Beginning in January 2022, amid the build-up to Russia's unprovoked assault on Ukraine," Bredderman notes, "the channel began sharing videos with titles like 'Risking World War III with Russia: Why?' and 'If NATO Goes to War, U.S. & European Soldiers Will Be Called On to Kill & Die.' More recent clips have carried such headlines as 'Leaked Pentagon Docs Show U.S. Elites Want Never-Ending Ukraine War' and 'G7 Sends F-16 Jets to Ukraine: Flirting with Disaster, Direct War on Russia.'"

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Paul Gosar

Paul Gosar Uses House Newsletter To Promotes Hitler-Loving Website

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) used his House.gov newsletter to direct people to a story posted on a Holocaust-denier website that praised him for attacking “Jewish warmongers” for their support of Ukraine. Gosar was promoting Veterans Today, an antisemitic website that has called the Holocaust a “lie” and a “hoax” and praised Hitler as a “great man” and “a man of valor.”

Gosar’s promotion of Veterans Today is another chapter in his extensive book of antisemitic associations. He has embraced Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes; praised Holocaust denier Vincent James Foxx and promoted his work (including in his newsletter); and defended and praised social media platform Gab and its CEO, Andrew Torba.

Gosar releases a weekly newsletter which includes a section about “Gosar in the News and Other Must-Read Stories.” His April 16 newsletter included a link to a February 26 Veterans Today post by senior editor Jonas E. Alexis that has the headline “Congressman: Jewish warmongers Nuland & Blinken ‘Are Dangerous Fools Who Can Get Us All Killed.’” (Gosar’s newsletter omitted the word “Jewish" before warmongers from its link description.) The Veterans Today article is actually a repost of an article by the Kremlin-funded Sputnik that did not carry the “Jewish warmongers” descriptor.

Gosar is sending readers to an antisemitic site that frequently publishes content denying the Holocaust. For instance, Veterans Today posted an article titled “Who Really Wanted the Holocaust? (Not the Nazis!)” which claimed to “document why it was that the Nazis did not want the Holocaust and why, instead, Jewish Zionists did” and another piece -- since deleted -- which claimed that “the Holocaust was in fact a (Big Zionist) Jew on (Little non-Zionist) Jew False Flag operation.” It also reposted a piece by neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin with the headline “Malignant Jew Goofball Dennis Prager Says You’re Going to Hell If You Don’t Believe His Ridiculous Gas Chamber Hoax.”

Veterans Today has published pro-Hitler propaganda. One piece (“A Defense of Hitler as a Heroic War Veteran?”) called Hitler “a man of valor” and “a great man.” Another stated that while Hitler “intended to save humankind, instead, he has been vilified with the epithet of being the most hated man—and most evil ruler—in human history.“

Jonas E. Alexis, whose byline is on the post that Gosar promoted, has a history of antisemitism. His prior articles include:

In 2017, Politicoreported that Veterans Today is connected to Kremlin propaganda and that “the site has consistently published articles that push the Kremlin party line.”

House Republicans reinstated Gosar to committee assignments after he was removed in the prior Congress for posting an anime video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Kremlin Bristles At Macron's Mention Of 'Regime Change' In Russia

Kremlin Bristles At Macron's Mention Of 'Regime Change' In Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Sunday scolded Emmanuel Macron over remarks about wanting to see Russia defeated, saying Moscow still remembered the fate of Napoleon Bonaparte and accusing the French president of duplicitous diplomacy with the Kremlin.

Macron told paper Le Journal du Dimanche France wanted Russia to be defeated in Ukraine but had never wanted to "crush" it.

"About 'Never': France did not begin with Macron, and the remains of Napoleon, revered at the state level, rest in the centre of Paris. France - and Russia - should understand," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"In general, Macron is priceless," she said, adding that his remarks showed the West had engaged in discussions about regime change in Russia while Macron had repeatedly sought meetings with the Russian leadership.

Macron has drawn criticism from some NATO allies for delivering mixed messages regarding his policy on the war between Ukraine and Russia, with some considering Paris a weak link in the Western alliance.

On Friday, Macron urged allies to step up military support for Ukraine, but also said he did not believe in regime change and that there would have to be negotiations at some point.

"Let’s be clear, I don't believe for one second in regime change, and when I hear a lot of people calling for regime change I ask them, 'For which change? Who’s next? Who is your leader?'"

Clarifying those comments, he said in the paper that he did not believe a democratic solution from within civil society would emerge in Russia after years of a hardening of Moscow's position and conflict. He added that he saw no alternative to Putin, who had to be brought back to the negotiating table.

"All the options other than Vladimir Putin in the current system seem worse to me," Macron said.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow and John Irish in Munich; Editing by Hugh Lawson)


Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the connection between Russia and France?

A. France and Russia have a complicated history, but despite their differences, the two countries have maintained a dialogue on various issues. Macron has met with Putin several times, and they have discussed counterterrorism and the Syrian conflict

Q. Did Russia support the French Revolution?

A. Russia was not in support of the French Revolution and joined a coalition of European powers that declared war on France in an attempt to suppress it. Despite several defeats, Russia continued to oppose the revolutionary ideals of France.