“Even behind bars Navalny was a real threat to Putin, because he was living proof that courage is possible, that truth exists, that Russia could be a different kind of country. For a dictator who survives thanks to lies and violence, that kind of challenge was intolerable. Now Putin will be forced to fight against Navalny’s memory, and that is a battle he will never win.”
Anne Applebaum, Why Russia Killed Navalny
The Atlantic, Feb. 16, 2024
The Party of Putin
Alexei Navalny’s murder prompts America’s new conservatism to show itself. Again.
https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/the-party-of-putin
Putin Says He Was Not Impressed by Tucker Carlson
“Sincerely speaking, I didn’t fully enjoy this interview,” the Russian leader said this week.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/putin-says-he-was-not-impressed-by-tucker-carlson
Congressman warns Trump’s alignment with Putin puts Ukraine aid in jeopardy
MSNBC
Feb. 4, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing for a stand-alone bill to provide aid to Israel, leaving out aid for Ukraine and funding for the border. Rep. Pat Ryan claims the relationship between Putin and Trump has made voting for Ukraine aid “provocative” for some Republicans.
Tucker Carlson confirms Russia trip and teases Putin interview
Former Fox host was spotted in the Russian capital, where he says he was to interview Putin about Ukraine war for X/Twitter show.
Far-right pundit and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson confirmed on Tuesday he was in Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin, and said he will air his conversation with Russia’s president to counter what he described as pro-Ukraine “fawning pep sessions” by western media covering the war.
Speculation had been growing for days that Carlson, who was dumped by Fox last year for “getting too big for his boots”, had traveled to the Russian capital to meet Putin, whose reasons for invading Ukraine he says have a right to be heard by the American public.
But his visit, which reportedly has included visits to the Bolshoi ballet and dining in fine restaurants, has drawn accusations he is acting as a propaganda tool for Putin, whom he has frequently defended. Russian media, meanwhile, has hailed Carlson as a celebrity “who speaks the truth”.
Carlson, whose downfall at Fox followed his on-air amplification of Donald Trump’s lies that his 2020 election defeat was fraudulent, untruths that ultimately cost Fox $787.5m in a defamation lawsuit brought by the Dominion Voting Systems company, also claimed Americans were “uninformed” about the effects of the war, and had “no real idea of what’s happening in this region”.
Since leaving Fox, Carlson has taken to broadcasting on X, where his shows – which have included speculation about UFOs among other extreme topics – are often conspiracy-laced and have included segments on disgraced figures like Russell Brand and Andrew Tate.
Even during his prime-time Fox News years, Carlson become notorious for extremist and bigoted language, especially around the issue of immigration.
Matt Gaetz is back on the anti-Ukraine hamster wheel and floating the suggestion that Russia, not Ukraine, should be part of NATO so the organization can become an anti-China alliance
https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-russia-not-ukraine-join-nato-anti-china-alliance-2023-7
Before Elise Stefanik Became a Trump Cult Leader, She Said He Was Misogynistic and Soft on Putin
May 11, 2021
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/elise-stefanik
Stefanik didn’t buy Trump’s subterfuge about Russia. In an interview with the Watertown Daily Times in March 2018, she stated that “Russia meddled in our electoral process.” And she noted the Kremlin scheme was designed to benefit Trump: “We’ve seen evidence that Russia tried to hurt the Hillary Clinton campaign.” Moreover, she expressed worry about the Trump-Russia contacts: “I am concerned about some of the contacts between Russians and surrogates within the Trump Organization and the Trump campaign.”
A year later, as Trump continued to push his phony “Russia hoax” claim, Stefanik, at a town hall meeting, disagreed with the Trump line that the Moscow assault was no big deal.
Trump Ally Roger Stone Sides With Putin, Claims Russia ‘Acting Defensively’
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-ally-roger-stone-sides-putin-claims-russia-acting-defensively
[Excerpts:]“There are, in fact, bio labs there [in Ukraine] that are funded by our tax dollars, cooking up who knows what pestilence to dump on the Russian people,” Stone continued. “Putin is acting defensively, he is not acting offensively. But you won’t read that in the mainstream media.”
Stone has promoted similar claims about Ukraine and Russia through his Telegram channel as well. “Russian groups are saying they uncovered a plot by Ukrainians to release a biological weapon in the country with NATO‘s help,” a recent post shared by the right-wing strategist said.
[Classic Dirty Trickster and murder-minded Roger Stone, former partner of Paul Manafort, founders of the “Torturers’ Lobby”.]
Why Jill Stein Attended Moscow Dinner with Putin and Flynn
https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/why-jill-stein-attended-moscow-dinner-with-putin-and-flynn
Former Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein assesses the Trump administration’s first six months and responds to questions about an infamous photo that showed her sitting at the same table as Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a dinner in Moscow in 2015.
The Russian leader exploits every opportunity
to weaken the U.S. and its allies.
https://w3.newsmax.com/General/NMM/Offers/Issues/NMM-2021-12
He’s evil, he’s cunning, and he thinks he is the most powerful man in the world.
And now this Special Report in Newsmax Magazine takes you into the secretive, sordid, and sometimes frightening world of the man who’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants — Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin, who has been dubbed and mocked for his Tsarist ambitions as “Vlad the Great,” has no limit to his global ambition or ruthlessness.
In this explosive Newsmax cover story, “Vlad the Great: Putin’s War on the West,” investigative reporter and bestselling author Kenneth R. Timmerman explores Putin’s beginnings and his goal of exploiting every opportunity to weaken the United States and its allies.
Timmerman also warns of a new Russia-China axis to control the world, with Iran playing a leading support role.
From his days as a cutthroat KGB spy stationed in East Germany to his power-hungry ascension to the presidency of Russia, Putin has given the U.S. and the world unending headaches with his nonstop amassing of nuclear weapons, incessant saber-rattling, and deadly espionage plots.
The iron-fisted tyrant kills his enemies without remorse, invades surrounding regions such as Crimea and Georgia, and works 24/7 to shut down America via sophisticated cyberattacks.
Opinion: Maximum-security prisoner Alexi Navalny is the patriot Jim Jordan could never be
Jordan and Navalny both worked to overturn their respective governments: One attempted to restore democracy; the other tried to subvert it. So, who’s the real patriot?
Phil Heimlich is a former assistant prosecutor in Cincinnati who has served as a Republican on Cincinnati City Council and the Hamilton County Commission. During the 2020 campaign, he helped lead Operation Grant, the Ohio affiliate of Republican Voters Against Trump. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for Congress in Ohio’s 8th District.
This is the story of two leaders. One is a highly decorated member of the United States Congress; the other resides in a maximum-security prison in Melekhovo, Russia.
The first, Congressman Jim Jordan, represents Ohio’s 4th District. He has received the Defender of Christian Values Award by The Christian Coalition of Ohio; the True Blue Award by the Family Research Council; the Ohio Right to Life Defender of Life Award; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by President Donald Trump.
The second, Alexei Navalny, is an enemy of the state. In 2013 he was found guilty of embezzlement, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison. In 2014 he was convicted of fraud, and in 2022 he was found guilty of new fraud charges and sentenced to nine years in a penal colony, where he now spends most of his time in solitary confinement.
In 2010 Navalny launched a website to expose cases where state contracts were awarded corruptly, and coined the term “party of crooks and thieves” to describe Vladimir Putin’s political party.
He attempted to run against Putin for President in 2018, but election officials refused to allow him on the ballot. In 2020, when Navalny was campaigning in local elections, he was poisoned by Russian security officials while on a flight to Moscow.
Who is Alexei Navalny? Putin’s biggest political rival has been poisoned and jailed
He could have safely remained in Germany, where he was recovering, but chose to return to Russia to continue his fight for democracy.
When he arrived, he was placed under arrest and not allowed to speak in court, but he used Twitter to convey his message to “bring the truth to the people of Russia.”
From his prison cell, he urged his followers to demonstrate against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He is being held in inhumane conditions, has lost significant weight and is suffering from a mysterious stomach ailment, which leads many observers to believe that Russian authorities are slowly poisoning him.
On October 20, 2020, two weeks before the presidential election, Rep. Jordan stated, without evidence, “Democrats are trying to steal the election, before the election.”
On November 18, 2020 Jordan demanded that Congress investigate the election because of “troubling reports of irregularities and improprieties,” but did not present any credible proof to support the accusation. On December 7, when asked if Trump should concede the election, he said “No way,” and described “all kinds of crazy things happening in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin … (and) Nevada,” without offering any facts to back it up.
He said, “I don’t know how you can ever convince me that President Trump didn’t actually win this thing based on all the things you see,” but he never said what those “things” were.
On December 21, Jordan strategized at the White House with Trump and Republican House members to overturn the election results. Jordan subsequently sent a text message to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, outlining a theory that Vice President Pence could stop the certification of the election.
On January 2, 2021, he joined a call with Meadows, Trump and 50 House members and senators to address the goal of overturning certain states’ Electoral College results on January 6. On January 3, Jordan stated on Fox News that Republican members of Congress were the “ultimate arbiter here, the ultimate check and balance” on the “unconstitutional” certification of the election results – again, without presenting any credible evidence of fraud.
On January 6, as Trump supporters gathered near the White House for the “Stop the Steal” rally, Jordan rose in the House and demanded that certain presidential electors certified by their states be disqualified.
He based his objection on various conspiracy theories.
During the debate on his objection, the mob invaded the Capitol, chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” and forced their way into the House chamber. Later, after order was restored, with four dead and 114 police officers injured, Jordan still voted – with no proof to support it – to overturn the election results.
Jordan has admitted he had several conversations with Trump on January 6, but will not disclose what they discussed. When asked to discuss the calls in a hearing by the Select Committee investigating the insurrection, he refused to testify.
Jordan and Navalny both worked to overturn their respective governments: One attempted to restore democracy; the other tried to subvert it. So, who’s the real patriot?
Phil Heimlich is a former assistant prosecutor in Cincinnati who has served as a Republican on Cincinnati City Council and the Hamilton County Commission. During the 2020 campaign, he helped lead Operation Grant, the Ohio affiliate of Republican Voters Against Trump. In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for Congress in Ohio’s 8th District. Follow him on Twitter: @philheimlich
Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy said ‘I think Putin pays Trump’, 2016 recording reveals
President’s former ally made explosive assertion to fellow Republicans month before billionaire businessman secured nomination last July
“[F]reedom has never been guaranteed . . . .” “Every generation has to earn it; fight for it; defend it in battle between autocracy and democracy, between the greed of a few and the rights of many….”