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@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 This is interesting for several reasons.
<Thread>:
First #WhyIsDuncanHunterStillInCongress?
Of course, @Agenthades1😎 @MsMariaT😎 were both on this 2 weeks ago: (more...)
<Thread>:
First #WhyIsDuncanHunterStillInCongress?
Of course, @Agenthades1😎 @MsMariaT😎 were both on this 2 weeks ago: (more...)
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 2/ There's a pattern for SoCalifornia congressmen (whose districts are near Dana Rohrabacher's former district) submitting into Congressional record positions which align w/lobbyists for foreign countries. (Duncan for Kazakh🇰🇿 fugitive, Royce for KSA🇸🇦):
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 3/ "Bergey Ryskaliyev paid Wiles $135,000 to promote his case to Congress. He’s a former Kazakh🇰🇿 official who fled his home country for London🇬🇧 following allegations that he stole millions from the state budget. (con't)
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 4/ ...Ryskaliyev and fellow asylees formed an opposition group called Jana Qazaqstan, arguing that the Kazakhstan government’s charges are politically motivated. They’re calling for 'free and transparent' elections in Kazakhstan🇰🇿." (more...)
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 5/ Sam Patten apparently had a close relationship with Rinat Akhmetshin, from at least 2006 (but my hunch is that they go back even further). more...
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 6/ "Court documents show that Patten has also crossed paths with Rinat Akhmetshin, the Russian-American lobbyist who has promoted Kremlin-aligned interests in Washington and who was present at the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting... (more...)
Aug 31, 2018:
edition.cnn.com/2018/08/31/pol…
Aug 31, 2018:
edition.cnn.com/2018/08/31/pol…
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 7/ "In a deposition for a civil lawsuit, Akhmetshin said he was retained to provide opposition research on a former Russian politician, Ashot Egiazaryan, and that he 'approached' Patten about the matter. Akhmetshin said Patten did him a favor in 2011... (con't)
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 8/ ... by letting him 'know that Mr. Egiazaryan is coming to Washington. That's the nature of courtesy.'"
My hunch (👉speculation only👈) is that Patten first became acquainted w/ Akmetshin in Kazazhstan🇰🇿 in the late 1990s through his then-father-in-law. (more...)
My hunch (👉speculation only👈) is that Patten first became acquainted w/ Akmetshin in Kazazhstan🇰🇿 in the late 1990s through his then-father-in-law. (more...)
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 9/ Letters supporting Patten were released when Patten was sentenced to probation and community service on Apr 12, 2019: (more...)
courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 10/ One letter was from John A Mann III, one of Sam's closest friends -- they had so much in common: III as name suffixes, arrived in Kazahstan at about the same time, both moving to Moscow in 2001... Sam and second wife Laura attended Mann's 2016 2nd wedding in Moscow. (more...)
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 11/ Here's the basis for my hunch: "Sam's father-in-law was a journalist aligned with the political opposition, and it's important to note how Sam helped that gentleman flee persecution and seek asylum abroad." (more...) 
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 12/ Akhmetshin has been involved in political oppo v. Kazakhstan gov't, as was Patten's first wife (married in Kazakhstan in 1999, one year after his son Max was born) Aizhan Kulakhmetova's father. Akhmetshin came to US in 1994, became US citizen in 2009:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinat_Akh…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinat_Akh…
@MsMariaT @Agenthades1 @annalecta @OpenSecretsDC @KarlEvers1 13/ Here's a 20-tweet <thread> with background on Sam and Laura Ballman Patten (2nd wife). Interestingly, Patten comes from a Dem family, was a Mondale supporter and didn't vote for DJT in 2016.🤔
For those interested, open tweet⤵️ and scroll up:
For those interested, open tweet⤵️ and scroll up:
