Thread by @areidross

So I've been thinking a lot about the fact that the US charged Elena Branson with being a spy earlier this month. Since I exposed the FBI's investigation into Branson's efforts last year, I wanted to do a thread on what this shows re: Russian influence /1

justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/d…

First off, here's my piece. I show how Branson had put her condo up for sale and fled the country along with a host of other Russians working under the aegis of KSORS, an organization for Russian "compatriots" abroad. More has surfaced, y'all. /2

thedailybeast.com/fbi-investigat…

Branson was married to a Princeton economics professor against the advise of his family, who said she "blew through his money like crazy." That condo she sold had belonged to him before he died in debt. (sorry to link to the Mail, lmao). /3

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…

Branson started working as an agent for Ru in 2011, according to the US, and started her Russian Center NY organization the following year. This group received tens of thousands of dollars from the Kremlin to run influence campaigns, and hosted a "Russia Forum NY." /4

Now, the site is scrubbed from the internet, but I found some snaps from archive.org. You might recognize the guy second from the right on the above screen grab of the last recorded Russia Forum NY hit. It's Alt Right guy Charles Bausman. /5 splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021…

Not only is Bausman on their header, but if you scroll down, since 2016 up to the site's shuttering in 2021, he was also listed as one of their top four VIP speakers. So I looked back to find when he spoke, and what other speakers were like. It's interesting... /6

Bausman spoke at the Russia Forum NY in 2015, alongside Michael Averko, a contributor to the site Strategic Culture, which is run by the SVR (Russian external intelligence). For whatever reason, former Bear Stearns manager was also there. /7 home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…

The Keynote Speech that year was obviously going to be Sergei Kislyak, the former ambassador. But what's interesting is the weird mixture of speakers. Investment fund managers, postal business services, mostly focused on sanctions, the business environment, etc. /8

But another interesting note mentioned in the article below: "The Russia Forum New York followed the two-day World Russia Forum in Washington, which was organized by Edward Lozansky." Lozansky is another KSORS board member who allegedly fled the US. /9 russiatimes.org/sanctions-russ…

I first learned about Lozansky's World Russia Forum in 2017, looking at the 2015 event that preceded Branson's NY event. Bausman had attended that World Russia Forum, as well. Stephen F. Cohen was there on a panel w/ Dana Rohrabacher, and... /10

alexanderreidross.net/2018/11/19/the…

his fellow co-founder of a group called the American Committee for East-West Accord, Gilbert Doctorow, who was a collaborator of Bausman's and has since pledged his admiration for fascist Alain de Benoist. Again, high-ranking politicians and academics with spies and fascists. /11

If I go back one more year to 2014, I find that the World Russia Forum and the Russia Forum NY seem to be united, with Cohen and American Conservative guy James Carden and fmr ambassador Jack Matlock (both also with the ACEWA), along with Branson and Lozansky of KSORS. /12

This is, of course, not to say that everyone who participated in these conferences was a spy, a fascist, or whatever, but that there were alleged agents (KSORS ppl Lozansky, Branson) and fascists/far right Putin fans (Bausman, Carden, Doctorow) working within this milieu. /13

In 2013, Mayor Bloomberg said RFNY "offers an excellent opportunity to examine the state of U.S.-Russia relations, and to discuss how business leaders from both countries can best work together for the benefit of our common interests.” De Blasio in 2015 was even nicer (below) /14

I doubt these two Mayors knew that there were alleged undeclared Russian agents in the midst. Importantly, the ppl in the Russian community I spoke with said that KSORS changed completely in 2014 after the invasion of Crimea, and turned into an Embassy op. /15

I know, a lot of people trusted KSORS and even the World Russia Forum, but it's time to admit that we were all duped. Russia was playing us, using legitimate criticisms of the US government as a wedge to gain global hegemony and undermine democracy in general. /16

But it's also fascinating to me that ppl like Cohen and Matlock, who are generally taken seriously, wound up so enmeshed in this network. Perhaps FP "realism" is simply useful to the Kremlin's imperatives, so they take advantage. Then again, perhaps it's more problematic... /17

Here's Matlock recently in a YouTube event with wing nut 9/11 truther Ray McGovern and Ted Postol, a Syria chemical weapons truther who quit his own journal in a huff after they withdrew his article. Other "Realist" Mearsheimer did stuff with ACEWA, too. /18

I only started to pick up on the extent of the problem during the Trump Campaign, and by then it was too late. I also didn't realize the role that Russian agents played in organizing this infrastructure of forums dedicated to cementing intl support for the Kremlin's agenda. /19

I suppose we can leave it there for now, with an eye to Maria Butina and her relationship with Branson. While Butina tried to infiltrate the GOP and NRA, Branson's efforts were more politically mixed, bringing left and right together for the Kremlin. /End

https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1501337806769213445