Finally finished off Netflix's "The Family." Fantastic work on all ends, especially from folks like @JeffSharlet and @jackmjenkins, highlighting how The National Prayer Breakfast left the door wide open for all and sundry—including folks like Alexander Torshin and Maria Butina.
As such, wanted to quickly highlight some of the work @thinkprogress has produced over the past few years on similar themes—primarily, how U.S. fundamentalist/Religious Right figures have, willingly or otherwise, provided sanctioned Russian circles with access in Washington.
1. Jack hit the nail on the head in this 2017 piece, providing an overview of the Putin-philia of everything from Franklin Graham to the World Congress of Families: thinkprogress.org/religious-righ…
2. The World Congress of Families features prominently in any discourse on how the U.S. Religious Right fell head over heels for the post-2012 Kremlin. Here's how the group began, with notes we obtained from the first meeting: thinkprogress.org/history-of-chr…
3. Torshin's first contact in the U.S. was an American lawyer. They bonded over a (supposed) mutual interest in Christian fundamentalism.
The U.S. lawyer, who used to help lead @MarshaBlackburn campaigns, told us he thought Putin was divinely appointed: thinkprogress.org/new-documents-…
4. One figure overlooked is Alexey Komov, right-hand man of sanctioned Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev—and the World Congress of Family's Russian rep.
Komov is also at the center of a recent financing scandal between Russia and Italy's far-right: thinkprogress.org/world-congress…
5. Komov has also branched beyond the World Congress of Families. Last year, he helped lead a homeschooling conference in Russia alongside the U.S.'s leading right-wing homeschooling organization: thinkprogress.org/americas-bigge…
6. Komov is also the Russian rep for Movieguide, which bills itself as the leading Christian film organization in the U.S.
Komov even spoke at the "Christian Oscars" in Los Angeles: thinkprogress.org/how-russia-inf…
7. Hacked emails showed Komov referring to European fascists as "friends," as well as his efforts to organize a party in Moscow with a number of American right-wing financiers/figures: thinkprogress.org/hacked-emails-… (Alexander Dugin cameo!)
8. Komov even managed to meet Ben Carson in Washington a few years ago: thinkprogress.org/why-was-ben-ca…
9. The links, and access, aren't limited to 2012-2018. Just a few months ago, Franklin Graham sat down in Moscow with sanctioned Russian official Vyacheslav Volodin.
Graham said he conducted the meeting with the blessing of VP Mike Pence: thinkprogress.org/why-was-frankl…
10. The only current member of Congress that Maria Butina ever dined with is @RepThomasMassie, arguably the most pro-Russian member of the House.
Massie has never publicly commented on his meal with Butina. thinkprogress.org/rep-thomas-mas…
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