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[TheRagnCajun]

The biggest point there really is why would they have been discussing anything at all? Trump was only a candidate and at the time a hundred to one shot of being president. What purpose would there have been in lobbying the Trump brigade about repealing the act?

Exchange of favours. Russia can help him win the election, Trump can help end the Magnitsky act.

 

[Soulstar]

This whole story is fucked up in so many ways I don't even know where to begin. People definitely need to read this. These people are monsters.

 

[Harrison Bergeron]

Browder's been on this crusade for almost ten years as well. It's telling how a lot of people involved in his campaign have ended up dead, attacked, maimed, threatened, or been subject to attempted discrediting and smearing. Nothing to see here? Magnitsky was in cahoots with the notorious embezzler Browder as they stole money from the Russian State?

 

[Apharmd]

Jesus.

It really is what Die Hard says.

"It's always about the money."

 

[Smiley90]

When I clicked on it, I was like "oh man that's too long, no way I'm reading all that"

Then I started and couldn't stop. Absolutely fascinating, disturbing and powerful. I encourage everyone to read the whole thing. Wow. Thanks for posting OP.

 

[Saint Gregory]

Exchange of favours. Russia can help him win the election, Trump can help end the Magnitsky act.

I phrased that badly but that's exactly what I'm saying. Don Jr. is acting as if this was some kind of charity meeting they took on behalf of the poor orphans to see what they could do to help but the Trumps at that time wouldn't have been in a position to do anything.

The meeting was clearly set up to coordinate and exchange favors, nothing else.

 

[Any Questions]

Holy shit.

When people say read the whole thing, READ THE WHOLE FUCKING THING.

LOL

It is a lazy op but have saved link. Imagine it's the usual Russian tactics. Murder death and repeat. However if you talk to or watch 911 truth documentaries... Same could be said anywhere

 

[rambis]

Just finished and man its basically a plot of a spy-thriller. Any director making a movie about all this will no doubt include this.

 

[theWB27]

LOL

It is a lazy op but have saved link. Imagine it's the usual Russian tactics. Murder death and repeat. However if you talk to or watch 911 truth documentaries... Same could be said anywhere

I'm having a hard time parsing this.

 

[the_firewithin]

That was something. Damn

 

[LegendofJoe]

I phrased that badly but that's exactly what I'm saying. Don Jr. is acting as if this was some kind of charity meeting they took on behalf of the poor orphans to see what they could do to help but the Trumps at that time wouldn't have been in a position to do anything.

The meeting was clearly set up to coordinate and exchange favors, nothing else.

Daddy Don will throw his son and everyone else under the bus. It's going to be something to see for sure.

 

[Hypemaster]

Unfuckingbelievable, these wicked ass deceiving people. Actually not even people, devils.

 

[midramble]

Gotta ask our EU brethren, do US sanctions still seem too harsh after reading this? Not being sarcastic, legitimately want to know.

I am biased of course because I'm American, but I was on the fence before. Now not so much.

 

[Akuun]

Definitely read this. It's one thing to hear about corruption, but something entirely different to have it all laid out neatly in front you the way this statement does. The string of murders that have followed this investigation alone is worth knowing.

It really does deserve to be read all the way through instead of just having a snippet or two quoted here.

 

[kris.]

Video of the testimony via C-SPAN

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

Wow this is a must read. Putin is basically the most successful crime lord in history.

And who Trump idolizes for it. Make no mistake, this is what the Trump crime family is a part of.

 

[Any Questions]

I'm having a hard time parsing this.

It was a lazy reply from me. Reading the article now. Not so much murder and death. However I urge folks to check out some documentaries on YouTube. I work in construction and was puzzled with WT7 etc. I don't fall all the way down the rabbit hole, however there are some interesting questions out there. Also I recommend for those interested in the out there "moulder and scully" thoughts to look up the Shakespeare Equation.

 

[Netherscourge]

Going to quote a passage:

Eighteen months after my expulsion a pair of simultaneous raids took place in Moscow. Over 25 Interior Ministry officials barged into my Moscow office and the office of the American law firm that represented me. The officials seized all the corporate documents connected to the investment holding companies of the funds that I advised. I didn’t know the purpose of these raids so I hired the smartest Russian lawyer I knew, a 35-year-old named Sergei Magnitsky. I asked Sergei to investigate the purpose of the raids and try to stop whatever illegal plans these officials had.

Sergei went out and investigated. He came back with the most astounding conclusion of corporate identity theft: The documents seized by the Interior Ministry were used to fraudulently re-register our Russian investment holding companies to a man named Viktor Markelov, a known criminal convicted of manslaughter. After more digging, Sergei discovered that the stolen companies were used by the perpetrators to misappropriate $230 million of taxes that our companies had paid to the Russian government in the previous year.

I had always thought Putin was a nationalist. It seemed inconceivable that he would approve of his officials stealing $230 million from the Russian state. Sergei and I were sure that this was a rogue operation and if we just brought it to the attention of the Russian authorities, the “good guys” would get the “bad guys” and that would be the end of the story.

We filed criminal complaints with every law enforcement agency in Russia, and Sergei gave sworn testimony to the Russian State Investigative Committee (Russia’s FBI) about the involvement of officials in this crime.

However, instead of arresting the people who committed the crime, Sergei was arrested. Who took him? The same officials he had testified against. On November 24, 2008, they came to his home, handcuffed him in front of his family, and threw him into pre-trial detention.

Russia is a Mafia-State.

 

[theechrisfox]

There is way too much dirty money flying around. Plenty enough for every republican in Congress to be paid off to shut the fuck up and definitely not impeach.

 

[Angry Grimace]

If you want to be first to post the thread, that's fine, but you need at the very least edit in some amount of content rather than just a link. This is a pretty interesting story and needs some kind of lede.

 

[CertifiedFP]

Gotta ask our EU brethren, do US sanctions still seem too harsh after reading this? Not being sarcastic, legitimately want to know.

I am biased of course because I'm American, but I was on the fence before. Now not so much.

Yeah, seriously, anyone who's against the new sanctions is an Enabler at this point. This is on a tier comparable to the appeasement of Nazi Germany in the 1930's. I mean, after all, Germanic countries wanting help from France and England in not being annexed were clearly just externalizing their issues.

 

[Zenner]

Putin grabbed Khodorkovsky off his private jet, took him back to Moscow, put him on trial, and allowed television cameras to film Khodorkovsky sitting in a cage right in the middle of the courtroom. That image was extremely powerful, because none of the other oligarchs wanted to be in the same position. After Khodorkovsky’s conviction, the other oligarchs went to Putin and asked him what they needed to do to avoid sitting in the same cage as Khodorkovsky. From what followed, it appeared that Putin’s answer was, “Fifty percent.”

That's nuts 0.0 Certainly not the type of world leader that can be rationally negotiated with.

Spoiler

Luckily we have one of our own now - fight fire with fire, amirite?

 

[Trojita]

The Newseum should be ashamed of itself for airing that propaganda fake documentary.

I'd say Dana Rohrabacher should be ashamed too, but you have to have something resembling a conscious to do that.

 

[datbapple]

That was some incredibly harrowing stuff for an opening statement. It boggles the mind how obvious it is what Trump and his crew are up to after reading. I had no idea the awful shit that Sergei Magnitsky went through. How these republicans can rock with Trump and Russia is fucking disgusting.

 

[rambis]

Going to quote a passage:



Russia is a Mafia-State.

I knew about the state hits and torture but the money is just jaw dropping. I mean there's just no way Putin has just taken $200b and not been beheaded by now. He may very well be the richest man in the world.

 

[FunkyMunkey]

WOW

this is trumps dream for the US. ruling through fear and wealth accumulation through bleeding the country dry. no wonder he worships putin

russia is a mafia-state

i hope he and his corrupt family of cronies goes down HARD. there's no fucking way he didn't use russias target of repealing that Act to get help. fucking bastard

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

What was Junior's description of what was discussed when meeting with the Russian oligarchs' representative, Veselnitskaya? They were just talking about adoptions?

 

[Saint Gregory]

What was Junior's description of what was discussed when meeting with the Russian oligarchs' representative, Veselnitskaya? They were just talking about adoptions?

None if us know now since he was able to testify behind closed doors and not under oath. Funny how that works...

 

[Jenov]

Gotta ask our EU brethren, do US sanctions still seem too harsh after reading this? Not being sarcastic, legitimately want to know.

I am biased of course because I'm American, but I was on the fence before. Now not so much.

Yep, good question. This article is damning.

 

[FunkyMunkey]

What was Junior's description of what was discussed when meeting with the Russian oligarchs' representative, Veselnitskaya? They were just talking about adoptions?

adoptions that are 1:1 related to that Act as retaliation

 

[Malvolio]

This is the easiest game of connect the dots that I've ever seen. The motivation of everyone involved is as transparent as glass. Half of our government is doing their best to hand back to Putin the only thing he actually cares about. Once again, greed is what makes it all possible.

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

Fantastic read!

 

[Piggus]

I've said it many times over the last few years and I'll say it again: fuck Russia.

 

[Trojita]

To simplify what happened initially, based on what Browder said on the NPR Interview: Their offices in Russia were raided by cops (ministers). He wasn't sure what they were looking for, if they were looking for money or what, so he hired the lawyer. They found out that they found a tax document within their office paperwork about how they paid the Russian government $230 million in taxes. These cops took the paperwork to the government agency in charge of taxes, said the tax payment (all $230 million) was a mistake and that they wanted it "returned" to them. The government agency approved the transfer WITHIN THE DAY. Browder and the lawyer thought Putin would be mad about criminals literally stealing money away from Russia, but then horrifyingly found out that Putin was in on stealing the money from the Russian state and people.

 

[Permanently A]

Holy fuck. When is this being presented to the Senate? Is there a video?

 

[JustenP88]

I think Kushner and Manafort at least had enough sense to not use Moscow's "it's about adoptions" talking point publicly. "I was just playing with my phone, I don't know what they were talking about" is a hell of a lot better than taking cues from sweet daddy poot poot.

Also, this was made public two days ago? Where the fuck has everyone been on this? Did I miss something?

 

[eagledare]

Holy fuck. When is this being presented to the Senate? Is there a video?

Link to Browder's JDC testimony:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-RsAGjUXtg

 

[LegendofJoe]

Gotta ask our EU brethren, do US sanctions still seem too harsh after reading this? Not being sarcastic, legitimately want to know.

I am biased of course because I'm American, but I was on the fence before. Now not so much.

It's pathetic honestly. You would think they would want to stand up to a corrupt authoritarian in their own backyard that is working to impoverish his own people. But nope, don't rock the boat, completely ignoring the fact that Canada and the US would absolutely step up to the plate to help them meet their energy needs.

It makes you wonder how many EU officials might be profiting from protecting the financial interests of Russian oligarchs.

 

[SeeThree]

Remember Trump's 1 on 1 "secret meeting" with Putin at the G20. When media asked Trump what they talked about he said "adoptions".

 

[Preacher]

Read the whole thing. Can't believe how callously they treated Magnitsky's life, it was as if he wasn't even human

 

[DrROBschiz]

Fucking Trump family are all traitors

 

[Brandson]

This statement really puts Donald Trump's own comments that Putin is always talking about adoptions whenever they speak into context, with Russian adoptions being a manufactured motivation for wanting the Magnitsky Act (that hampers Putin's ability to access his hidden billions) repealed. Trump Jr's meeting with Veselnitskaya was clearly intended to influence the campaign to do that. What's not clear is whether any of the Trumps understood the implications of what was asked of them. I'd like to give Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt not to be a total patsy in deal-making, so of all of them, he probably understood at least. They're going to have a hard time repealing it now.

 

[midramble]

Feel like the title should be changed to

Putin, Lord of all Mafias, murders and steels his way to world domination.

or

Putin to global mafia. "I want 50 percent"

or

Putin wants to trade sick orphans for his 50% cut of mafia money. Kills everyone who says no.

Something that gets more clicks. Title and content made this a sleeper article to me. Bit shook.

 

[Palette Swap]

I don't see R senators or congress people calling the Magnitsky backstory fake news, considering how they supported the act back in 2012.

To read up on the rationale behind opposition to the act, I found a New Yorker piece from back then, and it was basically realpolitik.

I like the way the 2012 article concludes and how relevant it still is, except they now have crooks in the WH to talk to:

The naïveté about Putin prevalent within the Bush Administration during its first term is long gone. Yet the question is whether the benefits of the Magnitsky Act--emotional satisfaction, a modicum of justice for some of Magnitsky’s persecutors, and other limited sanctions against Triple-A-level bad guys--justify the costs, including certain Russian retaliation of some type and a possible break in coöperation on Iran or Afghanistan.

The answer is yes. It is not a great idea for Congress to make foreign policy one emotionally charged bill at a time. Yet the virtue of the Magnitsky Act is that it rejects the fiction, so often presented at the theater of G-8 and other summits, that Russia is a normalizing country. Russia’s government remains, in substantial part, an oil-and-gas-bloated criminal enterprise. The country’s politics look brittle; thousands continue with remarkable resiliency to protest Putin’s legitimacy. Obama’s willingness to swallow his own voice on human-rights issues, for the sake of foreign-policy pragmatism, has been a disappointment of his Presidency. Here is a way for Congress to speak for him. It should.

 

[Trojita]

I'd also support a thread title change. Most people won't know who Browder is until they read the story from him.

 

[JustenP88]

This statement really puts Donald Trump's own comments that Putin is always talking about adoptions whenever they speak into context, with Russian adoptions being a manufactured motivation for wanting the Magnitsky Act (that hampers Putin's ability to access his hidden billions) repealed. Trump Jr's meeting with Veselnitskaya was clearly intended to influence the campaign to do that. What's not clear is whether any of the Trumps understood the implications of what was asked of them. I'd like to give Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt not to be a total patsy in deal-making, so of all of them, he probably understood at least. They're going to have a hard time repealing it now.

I imagine Trump could be directly tied to the laundering of some of that money. Regardless of whether he understands the Magnitsky Act, this collusion was an offer that Trump, literally, could not refuse.

 

[DrROBschiz]

Its time for the hammer to come down on Putin and Trump for good

 

[Reckless Abandon]

Wow, thanks for posting. Is definitely a must-read and I have passed it along accordingly.

 

[Rabid Dwarf 76]

This testimony reads like it came straight out of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago. It's god damn terrifying!

 

[Karkador]

Any American official, Republican or Democrat, SHOULD take this testimony and its implications on the Trump campaign and administration very seriously.