1/ I keep thinking of this part of the Parnas/Fruman story because it seems to fit a trend—i.e. political neophytes with foreign connections giving major political donations for the first time and getting precisely what they wanted in return: Access to Trump and Trump officials 
2/ For example, before Parnas and Fruman, there was Cheng Gao, the "Buddhist artist" who moved to the US from China in 2015 and suddenly started giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump and the GOP motherjones.com/politics/2019/…
3/ He then moved into Trump Tower and started posting pics from inside Trump's inauguratal events, Mar-a-Lago, and the White House
4/ Gao's case is pretty weird, and while it shows how political contributions can buy easy access to the Trump administration, the jury's still out on whether there's anything more nefarious going on there.
But, then there's Simon Kukes....
But, then there's Simon Kukes....
5/ Kukes is a Russian-born American citizen.
In the early 2000s when Putin threw Mikhail Khodorkovsky in jail in one of his first major power grabs, he then put Kukes in charge of the state-owned oil company Yukos.
Kukes is the guy shaking hands with Putin here.
In the early 2000s when Putin threw Mikhail Khodorkovsky in jail in one of his first major power grabs, he then put Kukes in charge of the state-owned oil company Yukos.
Kukes is the guy shaking hands with Putin here.
6/ Kukes has been an American citizen for about 40 years, yet he never gave a single political contribution.....until 2016.
Then, suddenly, he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump and the GOP—nearly all after the Trump Tower meeting opensecrets.org/news/2017/09/r…
Then, suddenly, he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump and the GOP—nearly all after the Trump Tower meeting opensecrets.org/news/2017/09/r…
7/ Because he's an American citizen, it's totally legal for him to make political contributions. That potentially changes, though, if Kukes' contributions were made in coordination with Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election
8/ We now know that, yes, Kukes was in touch with high-ranking Russian officials at the time, and he boasted on at least one occasion that he was "actively involved in Trump’s election campaign"
9/ Kukes sent a picture with Rudy Giuliani from what appears to be a fundraiser in the Hamptons on August 13, 2016, hosted by Woody Johnson, who is now U.S. ambassador to the UK.
"I was at a dinner with Donald Trump," Kukes wrote. "I think his chances are very good."
"I was at a dinner with Donald Trump," Kukes wrote. "I think his chances are very good."
10/ Kukes' then-girlfriend, now-wife Svetlana Stanovkina also got her picture snapped with the running mates at a September 2016 event nbcnews.com/politics/donal…
11/ I'm sure there are others donors like this that I'm either forgetting or that we don't yet know about.
I'm sure we don't know the full extent to which this is happening though.
I'm sure we don't know the full extent to which this is happening though.
