Thread by @fawfulfan

THREAD:

Let me explain why it’s such a big deal that the State Department revoked Bill Browder’s visa.

1/ As anyone with cursory knowledge of Russian politics knows, Browder is one of Vladimir Putin’s least favorite people on the planet.

2/ Browder was behind the passage of the “Magnitsky Acts” in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Estonia freezing assets for Putin’s oligarchs.

3/ Hard to overstate how much Magnitsky Acts devastate Putin’s circle. It’s they only real punishment they’ve faced for human rights abuses.

4/ Russian oligarchs spent decades looting their country & storing assets overseas. The Magnitsky Acts block them from accessing this loot.

5/ Though Putin is furious, there’s little he can do. He imposed his own countersanctions, but they’re weak and mostly hurt his own people.

6/ So it’s little shock he’s turned his guns on Browder, the a face of the Magnitsky Acts. Putin would surely have him killed if possible.

7/ To do that, Putin needs to make him an easier target. That means extraditing him to Russia or, at least, restricting his movement.

8/ Hence, Putin has tried on five separate occasions to put out “red notices” on Browder through Interpol.

9/ Some news outlets have characterized this as a “warrant” on Browder. Technically speaking, that’s not quite right.

10/ In spy movies, Interpol is portrayed as some kind of globetrotting international FBI that hunts down traffickers and art thieves.

11/ In real life, though, Interpol isn’t actually a law enforcement agency. They don’t make arrests and don’t have investigators.

12/ What they are is a global liaison between cops in different countries. They help police share files, interpret languages, etc.

13/ So when Interpol puts out a “red notice” it’s not a warrant so much as a heads-up to cops in other countries that Russia wants Browder.

14/ Obviously, that will not be a problem for Browder as long as Western democracies recognize that red notice is bullshit and ignore it.

15/ That brings us to the U.S. State Dept. Which for the first time, just created the appearance of cooperating with Russia’s witch hunt.

16/ Did they really revoke Browder’s visa just because Putin whined to Interpol? We don’t know. But they sure created the appearance of it.

17/ It makes Tillerson’s repeated promises to commit to the Magnitsky Act seem a bit feeble when we restrict the movement of their author.

18/ And this is coming at a time when POTUS is under investigation for contacts with Russia & is refusing to enforce new Russian sanctions.

19/ This is all going to embolden Putin against his political enemies even further, at home and abroad.

20/ Moreover, the last thing we should be doing to a U.S.-born British citizen on Putin’s target list is restricting his free movement.

21/ We should demand answers from the State Department right now. But frankly, I don’t see how any answer could justify what they did.

END