Putin's Favorite President congratulates Putin's Favorite Congressman.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Link to tweet

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump ·

Congratulations to Dana Rohrabacher on his big California win. We are proud of you Dana!

7:43 AM - 6 Jun 2018

https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/putin-congress-rohrabacher-trump-231775


Putin’s favorite congressman

Dana Rohrabacher’s pro-Russia views made him an outcast. But in Trump’s Washington, he could fit right in.

By ISAAC ARNSDORF and BENJAMIN ORESKES
| 11/23/2016 05:03 AM EST


Putin’s top congressional ally is Rohrabacher, the 69-year-old chairman of the House subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia. A former Cold Warrior, Rohrabacher has since morphed into a supporter of better relations with Putin’s Russia, for reasons similar to those articulated by President-elect Donald Trump.

Indeed, Rohrabacher’s sympathy for Putin seems to have resonated with some of Trump’s aides, as the 14-term California congressman — an outspoken Trump enthusiast before the election — has been mentioned as a dark-horse candidate for secretary of state.

****

But the story of the Russian government’s tireless efforts to co-opt Rohrabacher, and gain his support for removing the Magnitsky name from the global anti-corruption bill, illustrates just how deeply Putin’s influence is being felt in Washington on the cusp of the Trump era.

On a trip to Moscow, Rohrabacher met with a close Putin confidant and accepted documents from Russian prosecutors claiming Magnitsky wasn’t a whistleblower, but a thief. Back in Washington, Rohrabacher’s senior aide escorted anti-Magnitsky lobbyists to meet other lawmakers and entered testimony endorsing Russia’s version of events into the official congressional record.

[Gothmog]

1. Trump is Putin's puppet