WASHINGTON – In response to this morning’s breaking news that former Russian counter-intelligence official and lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin also attended the June 2016 meeting between Kremlin-linked attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya and Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Donald Trump, Jr., the DCCC is calling on Dana Rohrabacher to fully disclose the extent of his relationship with the two Russians.
Rohrabacher’s relationship with Akhmetshin runs deep – the two met multiple times to discuss the federal money-laundering case involving Prevezon, the firm that Russian prosecutor Sergei Magnitsky was investigating before he was arrested by Russian authorities and died in prison under mysterious circumstances: the first when Akhmetshin lobbied Rohrabacher in his congressional office, and was subsequently led around the capitol by Rohrabacher’s own staff (a move considered highly unusual); and the second when Rohrabacher and Akhmetshin clandestinely met in Berlin to again talk about the case.
Recently, it was revealed that Natalia Veselnitskaya and Dana Rohrabacher met last year at a dinner at the Capitol Hill Club to talk about the Magnitsky Act, among other things that Rohrabacher conveniently can’t recall. And, just days after Veselnitskaya met with Trump, Jr., she sat in the front row of Rohrabacher’s committee hearing on U.S. policy toward Putin’s Russia.
DCCC spokesperson Drew Godinich released the following statement:
“Representative Dana Rohrabacher has long been known as a cheerleader for Vladimir Putin – even as the Russian leader has worked to hamstring democracy in his country, invaded neighboring countries, and imprisoned political opponents and journalists. After multiple American intelligence agencies agreed that Russia conspired to undermine the election last November, Dana Rohrabacher preferred to parrot the Kremlin party line – dismissing stories around their interference as ‘fake news.’ As evidence continues to mount that the Trump campaign may have colluded with Russia last year, Dana Rohrabacher should fully disclose his connections to these shadowy Russian figures and come clean to his constituents.”
These new revelations only add to the shadiness of Rohrabacher’s connections to the Kremlin, which are detailed below:
- Rohrabacher accused, by his own colleague, of being paid by Vladimir Putin. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said that he believed Vladimir Putin pays Dana Rohabacher in a secretly recorded conversation.
- Rohrabacher consistently opposed, voted against sanctioning Russia.In 2014, after its invasion of Crimea, Rohrabacher voted against sanctioning Russia and providing aide to Ukraine. More recently, Rohrabacher opposed legislation sanctioning Russian weapon suppliers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s deadly war machine.
- Rohrabacher used Kremlin propaganda to derail legislation Russia opposed in Congress.According to Politico, “Rohrabacher went to great lengths in an unsuccessful attempt to derail legislation that Russia opposed in Congress. He even used information provided directly from the Russian government to make his case.”
- Rohrabacher tried to shield Russia from being labeled a human rights abuser, defended Putin-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.Rohrabacher said it’s “baloney” that Russia is a major human rights abuser and downplayed such abuses the country has committed in the past. Most alarming, Rohrabacher defended Kremlin-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying he’s “not such a bad guy” and Syria is “not our enemy.”
- Rohrabacher advocated against investigating Michael Flynn’s ties to Russia and met with Paul Manafort when he was a lobbyist for Putin-Backer Victor Yanukovych.After National Security Advisor Michael Flynn resigned due to his communications with Russian officials, Rohrabacher advocated against investigating him further, saying he “didn’t think additional investigations into Flynn’s communication with Russian officials were necessary.” As if defending one Russia-connected Trump official wasn’t enough, it was also revealed that Rohrabacher met with Paul Manafort when he was a lobbyist for Victor Yanukovych right before Rohrabacher opposed aide for Ukraine.
- Kremlin spies attempted to recruit Rohrabacher.Most likely due to his close ties to Russia, the FBI confronted Rohrabacher after meeting with a Russian intelligence official because Kremlin spies were attempting to recruit him to be an “agent of influence” who could steer policymaking in favor of Russian interests. His own colleagues even had to remind Rohrabacher that Russia is an enemy of the United States.