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Casey Michel 🇰🇿 @cjcmichel
, 5 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
NEW: I spoke with Kline Preston, the lawyer that introduced the NRA to Russian officials, about the arrest of Maria Butina—who he first met in Moscow. thinkprogress.org/lawyer-linking…
Preston, who told me he has "access to @MarshaBlackburn," says he doesn't see Butina as a spy, and that "her prosecution is not what it seems." thinkprogress.org/lawyer-linking…
ICYMI
Spox from Nashville-based private prison company CoreCivic tells me no executives met with Alexander Torshin, though it's possible Torshin took an "informational tour":
‘She was not informed of the reason for the move. I was not notified of the move, and still am unaware of the reason.’ thedailybeast.com/alleged-russia…
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Here's what we know about the American arrested in Moscow on espionage charges:

1. His name is Paul Whelan.
2. The arrest came a week after Putin said Moscow wouldn't retaliate for Maria Butina.
3. That's about it.

thinkprogress.org/moscow-announc…
Worth noting that this month Putin was asked directly about potentially following the China-Canada-Huawei precedent (and said he ruled it out): thinkprogress.org/moscow-announc…
State Dept. finally issues statement about arrest of alleged American spy in Moscow, requests consular access: newsweek.com/american-paul-…
Read 7 tweets
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‘Is @DrJillStein a fellow traveler or a useful idiot?’ nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna9…
Glad this piece (from Sept. 2016) on all of @DrJillStein’s Kremlin-friendly decisions has held up well: intersectionproject.eu/article/russia…
‘Stein and her presidential campaign have largely refused to cooperate with the Senate’s own investigation into Russia’s efforts to interfere with the 2016 election.’ thinkprogress.org/russia-jill-st…
Read 4 tweets
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That time George Washington “engaged in the popular, if technically illegal, custom of intoxicating local voters” to win his first election (to the House of Burgesses):
“Only a little more than a third of Washington’s slaves enjoyed the luxury of living with their spouses and children.”
“It is hate to imagine anything that more starkly contradicted Washington’s stated policy of preserving slave families than raffling them off in this public manner.”
Read 3 tweets

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#BREAKING Maria Butina pleads guilty—the first Russian national convicted of trying to influence US policy during the 2016 election. She infiltrated top American political circles using guns (NRA), religion and Republicans. washingtonpost.com/news/politics/…
Maria #Butina pleads guilty to engaging in conspiracy against US - CNNPolitics cnn.com/2018/12/13/pol…
"Butina sought to establish unofficial lines of communication with Americans having power and influence over US politics." She infiltrated the NRA & religious groups to bolster Russian interests. She said in court today she acted "under direction of" a Russian official (Torshin).
Read 7 tweets
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THREAD

#Butina #Torshin #NRA #Russia #Trump
1. In 2009 G. Kline Preston IV was invited to #Moscow by #Torshin to brief a group of Russian legislators on the American legal practice of immunity or “plea bargaining”

#Butina #Torshin #NRA #Russia #Trump
2. Since 2009 #Torshin has climbed the #Kremlin ranks and come 2016 he was the Deputy Governor of Russia’s Central Bank and the “godfather” of the mob involved murdering several people in #Spain

#Butina #Torshin #NRA #Russia #Trump

elpais.com/elpais/2017/03…
Read 18 tweets
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There's always more >> Accused spy Maria #Butina turned on her Russian charm to secure Russian jet fuel deal with David Keene, NRA president & prominent leader of the conservative movement, his lobbyist wife, & her boyfriend Erickson — The New York Times nytimes.com/2018/09/02/us/…
THREAD on sloppy NYT piece on #Butina. See @john_sipher who says she's not a professional spy but an 'access agent teeing up fools for Russia to compromise.' She develops access & provides targeting information to the professionals, so they know who's vulnerable, who to go after.
@john_sipher There are spies and there are spies. Russia has a dizzying array of intelligence agents, special services & proxies, formal professionals & informal agents like Maria #Butina. @KirkseniyaSF reviews some of the nuances in @KyivPost kyivpost.com/article/opinio… cc @SethAbramson @nytimes
Read 4 tweets
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141) "It is worth noting that Dominionism has also long-resonated with, and helped to develop contemporary White nationalism, neo-confederate ideology and White supremacism." politicalresearch.org/tag/dominionis… …
142) The 'Religious Right' was built on opposition to the Civil Rights Movement.
salon.com/2016/02/24/the… …
143} ''There's a growing divide in 'Evangelical' Christianity and it has a lot to do with race.''
huffingtonpost.ca/entry/evangeli… …
Read 52 tweets
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Joseph Chancellor, founding co-director (with Aleksandr Kogan) of GSR, the company which harvested information from 50 million Facebook users and sold it to Cambridge Analytica, was hired as in-house psychologist by Facebook 2 months after leaving GSR theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/…
Facebook investigating links between employee Joseph Chancellor, former co-director of Aleksandr Kogan's GSR, and #CambridgeAnalytica
(h/t @RVAwonk via @AdamParkhomenko) cnnmon.ie/2HIFWMW
In a case that could shed light on how millions of American voters were targeted online in the run-up to the 2016 election, NY professor @profcarroll sues #CambridgeAnalytica in a British court
cnn.it/2pjOySH
Read 55 tweets
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💣BOOM💣

FBI probing the NRA for using *illegal* #Russian🇷🇺money to help Trump win‼️

The NRA reported it spent a *record $55 million* on 2016 elections, including $30 million for Trump – TRIPLE what it spent for Mitt Romney in 2012.🤨 1/

amp.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-wo…
Even WORSE:

👉🏼Most of the $55 million was spent by an arm of the NRA that is *not required to disclose its donors*
👉🏼Two people w/close connections to the NRA said its total election spending actually was *$70 million*

2/
The gap btwn the $55 million (reported) and $70 million (actual) may be b/c independent groups are *not required to report how much they spend on Internet ads or field operations*, including get-out-the-vote efforts‼️🤬 3/
Read 13 tweets

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