Oh wow: It looks like @RichardGrenell may have violated FARA while trying to whitewash one of the most corrupt figures the post-Soviet space has ever produced. Wow. propublica.org/article/trumps…
The U.S. recently barred Vlad Plahotniuc from the U.S. on account of grand corruption (worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/28520…). Seriously hard to overstate a more corrupt actor in Moldova, or in Eastern Europe, that @RichardGrenell was helping launder the reputation of.
Plahotniuc had a pretty substantial whitewashing/lobbying machine in his back pocket in DC a few years back... while simultaneously pillaging millions of dollars (or more) from Moldovans. Really heinous stuff.
So Grenell just... whitewashed Plahotniuc’s massive corruption out of the kindness of his own heart? That’s the line his defenders are going with? https://t.co/NIjsVudN3L
Going to be really fascinating to see how the (revamped!) FARA Unit handles @RichardGrenell’s work for a kleptocrat like Plahotniuc. Just a letter of inquiry, and delayed FARA registration? Proceeding to prosecution? Part of a broader investigation of Plahotniuc’s network in DC?
It shouldn’t be a surprise @RichardGrenell used the @WashTimes to try to spin Vlad Plahotniuc as a supposed “Western-looking reformer.”
That outlet was (and is) one of the go-to reputation-laundering mills for the crooked and corrupt out of the former Soviet Union.
That outlet was (and is) one of the go-to reputation-laundering mills for the crooked and corrupt out of the former Soviet Union.
.@RichardGrenell’s lawyer said he didn’t need to register with FARA because Plahotniuc was... not the Moldovan government? What? The guy was the most powerful (and insanely corrupt) political figure in Moldova for years and years. nytimes.com/2020/02/21/us/… 
Grenell got caught red-handed on this, and now his defenders are claiming that he:
—didn’t actually work for Plahotniuc
—didn’t work at the behest of a “foreign government,” and so didn’t have to register with FARA
Neither of which are plausible defenses.
—didn’t actually work for Plahotniuc
—didn’t work at the behest of a “foreign government,” and so didn’t have to register with FARA
Neither of which are plausible defenses.
This is on top of the giant, glaring red flags questioning the ethics/intelligence of a guy like Grenell, who sang the praises of one of the most corrupt oligarchs the world seen in the past decade. https://t.co/IPwWrb7UtS
One-word reaction from a buddy in Chisinau on the news about @RichardGrenell’s unreported work on Plahotniuc’s behalf: “Unbelievable.”
#tbt Last month Lev Parnas said Firtash’s lawyer, Victoria Toensing, specifically contacted Grenell to funnel them information about DOJ discussions about extraditing Firtash: thedailybeast.com/lev-parnas-dis…
The situation with Grenell/Moldova is similar to what we saw play out with Giuliani/Romania:
Both working vocally on behalf of notoriously corrupt actors, not registering with FARA, and claiming they didn’t have to because it wasn’t *their* consulting firm on the contract.
Both working vocally on behalf of notoriously corrupt actors, not registering with FARA, and claiming they didn’t have to because it wasn’t *their* consulting firm on the contract.
.@RichardGrenell 'knowingly provided public relations services directed at U.S. media on behalf of a project funded by Hungary’s far-right government. Grenell didn’t register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agent Registration Act.' responsiblestatecraft.org/2020/02/24/gre…
@RichardGrenell Would love, love to know on whose behalf Grenell was working in Kazakhstan, which has its own sordid history of bankrolling Westerners willing to secretly spin dictatorships (newrepublic.com/article/120691…).
@RichardGrenell 'CNN found two additional columns by Grenell, published in conservative outlets Fox News and Newsmax, in which he accused Plahotniuc's critics of smearing him on behalf of the Kremlin.' cnn.com/2020/02/25/pol…
@RichardGrenell 'Grenell didn’t just stumble upon Moldova, or wake up with an altruistic concern for Russian meddling in Moldovan politics. Rather, Grenell... was being paid by Plahotniuc, the Moldovan oligarch and target of Gofman’s allegations.' talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/miha…
@RichardGrenell Here's Schumer's letter requesting that DOJ open an investigation in Ric Grenell's foreign lobbying work, which he didn't register with FARA: democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/…
Grenell's lawyer is claiming that Grenell whitewashed Plahotniuc by his own volition, which is... ridiculous, frankly. nytimes.com/2020/03/04/us/…
There's a real Facebook page called "Friends of Richard Grenell": facebook.com/Friends-of-Ric…
Maybe they can ask Grenell about one of the things he has in common with Flynn: an apparent FARA violation.
The good news about Grenell potentially being sucked into this Mike Flynn kerfuffle is that he now has less time to spend actively kneecapping U.S. policy in the Balkans.
Looks like Trump's re-election campaign will be featuring a guy who has the cloud of a presumed FARA violation hanging over him (just like 2016!): politico.com/news/2020/05/2…
So is Grenell going to be helping run Trump's re-election campaign... while also working as special U.S. envoy for Serbia-Kosovo dialogue? Or is he also dropping the latter?
Buried lede in this is that, yes, Grenell will be staying on as the U.S.'s Special Envoy for Serbia-Kosovo dialogue:
This, basically. Grenell can now focus solely on forcing Kosovo to concede to Serbia (and follow through on "land swaps"), in the aims of getting Trump a foreign policy "win" by November, no matter the cost.
