Viewpoint: Republicans cower at Russia’s feet to the world’s detriment
David James
House Republicans are trying to impeach President Biden on fictitious information from a Putin Russian intelligence operation. Why? Republicans have determined that a public circus to defame the President will be as effective as the relentless public spectacles of Hillary Clinton and Benghazi hearings.
The USA-Russia history is an important reminder of the nefarious objectives of the Russian dictator. Donald Trump was targeted for years as a useful asset. Trump’s narcissistic personality and his weakness for flattery make him an easy mark for the experienced ex KGB Putin. Putin wanted Americans to elect Donald Trump in 2016 because he was confident Trump would enable Russia to take Ukraine and weaken NATO, who stood to obstruct Putin’s plans.
The USA-Russia history is an important reminder of the nefarious objectives of the Russian dictator.
Russian intelligence met with the Trump campaign in Trump Tower in 2016 to help the Trump campaign. To wage a ‘cheaper’ war against America, in 2014 Russia’s Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg set up fake social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, reaching millions of voters by promoting Trump and dividing Americans.
They created fake hashtags, like #KidsForTrump, bought thousands of online ads impersonating US citizens, and set up political rallies, like a Confederate rally in Houston. They made posters like “Miners for Trump” promoting a rally in Pittsburgh. Trump requested Russia “find” Clinton’s missing emails. Within hours, the GRU attacked the Democratic Party, stole information, created online personas, such as DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 and gave information to Wikileaks while releasing 20,000 emails of Clinton to the public.
Russian state-controlled TV announced that “Trump is our president”. Over the years, Russian money saved the Trump Organization. In fact, Russian organizations began laundering money for Russian oligarchs, beginning in 1984 in Trump Tower. Beginning in 1986, Trump was courted and flattered by Soviet diplomats. Later, a third of the luxury apartments in Trump World Tower near the UN were bought by entities associated with Russia.
Donald Trump, Jr. said in 2008, “Russians make up a disproportionate of our assets.” The Russian war on Ukraine was always part of an overall strategy--weaken NATO and the US to expand Russian territory to the west, while capturing what was once the “breadbasket” of the USSR. Trump’s loyalty to Putin became a national scandal when he sided with Putin in Helsinki in 2018 over US Intelligence that Russia interfered in Trump’s election, and revealed state secrets to the Russian ambassador in the White House while excluding American Press.
Presently, Trump’s order to Speaker Johnson and House Republicans' NOT to help Ukraine in its defense against Russia, plus Russian intelligence efforts to destroy President Biden’s reelection, now look eerily suspicious.