Meet the Rockefeller heir who hosted Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin in D.C. last year—and who may well be the second unnamed American in last week's NRA-Russia indictment. thinkprogress.org/george-oneill-… 
In Feb. 2017, Rockefeller heir George O'Neill hosted Butina, Torshin, @DanaRohrabacher, @RepThomasMassie and a handful of others at a swanky, lavish D.C. dinner—one of Torshin's final major meetings in the U.S. thinkprogress.org/george-oneill-…
O'Neill:
1. Was the subject of a 2000 Vanity Fair profile, dedicated to allegations of his years of infidelity.
2. Was described to me as a "Pat Buchanan conservative"—and even helped Phyllis Schlafly(!) with her anti-equality work.
1. Was the subject of a 2000 Vanity Fair profile, dedicated to allegations of his years of infidelity.
2. Was described to me as a "Pat Buchanan conservative"—and even helped Phyllis Schlafly(!) with her anti-equality work.
(When it comes to Russia, O'Neill has recommended more people read Stephen Cohen, as well as the anti-Semitic Russia Insider site, which gives a good sense of his own writings on Moscow.) thinkprogress.org/george-oneill-…
So: Is this Rockefeller heir the second unnamed American who helped Butina? Maybe. Would certainly line up with what we know.
More importantly, following his dinner with Torshin and Butina, he said he'd keep up his efforts—that he'd "continue these private interactions."
More importantly, following his dinner with Torshin and Butina, he said he'd keep up his efforts—that he'd "continue these private interactions."
WSJ confirms our reporting: George O'Neill Jr. is confirmed as the "U.S. Person 2" who helped Maria Butina. wsj.com/articles/rocke…
.@thinkprogress first reported that George O'Neill was the likely "U.S. Person 2" who worked with Butina almost 10 days ago: thinkprogress.org/here-are-all-t…
There are no known pictures of Butina and O'Neill—but there is a shot from the night of O'Neill's Feb. 2017 D.C. dinner with Butina and Torshin, showing O'Neill (bow-tie) along Paul Erickson (back), the other unnamed American in the DOJ complaint.
Moment to brag: We were the first to report George O'Neill was the likely "U.S. Person 2" helping Butina. Because of the stellar team at @thinkprogress, I got to explore that theory in our profile today: thinkprogress.org/george-oneill-…
Feels pretty great to have our reporting confirmed.
Feels pretty great to have our reporting confirmed.
Worth highlighting: Butina and O'Neill, the Rockefeller heir, were emailing as early as March 2016—almost a year before O'Neill organized a D.C. dinner for her, Torshin, @DanaRohrabacher, and @RepThomasMassie. thinkprogress.org/george-oneill-…
'When a reporter asked [Rohrabacher] about a 2015 meeting with Butina his office confirmed to the OC Register, he retorted, “I think you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to divert attention onto another,” before some crosstalk.' losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/07/20/dan…
.@DanaRohrabacher called the charges against Maria Butina "fake news": motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
‘The Senate on Wednesday approved the release of internal Intelligence Committee documents to the Justice Department regarding alleged Russian agent Mariia Butina.’ politico.com/story/2018/08/…
So Butina got JD Gordon, the Trump campaign’s director of national security, to ask her out for drinks and a concert: washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…
The people Butina allegedly tried to honeypot (or something?) thus far:
1. Paul Erickson
2. JD Gordon
3. Some higher-up at a political rights organization (presumably the NRA)
1. Paul Erickson
2. JD Gordon
3. Some higher-up at a political rights organization (presumably the NRA)
‘Did the FBI investigation of Butina lead to Brownell’s quick retreat from the NRA leadership? The NRA did not respond to a request for comment.’ motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
