When Trump announced to the world that Putin had extended an "incredible offer" to Trump-both countries investigators would investigate whether or not one of the parties involved has clearly meddled in elections all across the west. For sane people, that offer was insane, for Bill Browder and Michael McFaul, it was exceptionally insane. Just a quick research on these two men show that Putin's offer was shit. It's hard to grasp how Trump could see it as otherwise, unless Trump's desire to be liked by Putin goes beyond America's interests and supporting the desire of eastern European countries to self-determination.
For Putin, Bill Browder represents his corruption, and Michael McFaul represents his paranoia.
Bill Browder is the CEO and co-founder of Hermitage Capital Management. In 2007, his Russian offices were raided by Russian police, and $230 million dollars were seized. Wanting to learn what the fuck happened, Bill Browder hired Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky to get to the bottom of it. Magnitsky's findings are a prime example of financial corruption of Putin's regime, and seizing assets to put in their own pockets.
Magnitsky filed a criminal complaint against Russian officials for fraud, was arrested and charged with tax evasion. While in prison, Magnitsky suffered from gallstones and pancreatitis. Magnitsky died in prison, and his body was found to be beaten and bruised. Magnitsky's death resulted in Bill Browder going on a "crusade" to punish those connected with Magnitsky's death. The United States congress passed the Magnitsky Act, which went after to pocket books of those connected to Magnitsky's death in prison, and was supported by dissidents inside Russia. Russian dissidents felt that this was a good way of going after Putin and his oligarchic party.
The now well known meeting at Trump Tower where Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushnermet with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian attorney who has had clients connected to Russian state-owned corporations. Don Jr.'s first excuse was to say that they were discussing the adoption of Russian children by United States citizens. What makes that interesting is that Putin's response to the Magnitsky Act, which impacted him financially, was to stop U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children. Discussing sanctions that impact Putin personally, just a coincidence.
Michael McFual was a graduate student in Russia when the Soviet Union fell apart. Years later he would become Obama's presidential campaign advisor, and would work with the White House and the National Security Council on everything dealing with Russia. In 2012, Michael McFaul became the ambassador to Russia, were like other Americans in government working in Russia, would be followed, including his own children. One day McFaul went to meet with Russian dissident Lev Ponomaryov. Upon arriving, McFaul was met my pro-Kremlin news outlets asking him why he was there. Being understandably frustrated, McFaul accused them of illegal surveillance, and that Russia had become a wild, uncivilized country.
After the incident with the Russian media outlets, friends would warn McFaul to be careful, and that some saw him as someone there to specifically cause trouble. One friend would tell McFaul that Putin viewed him as a CIA spy, whose job is to build up a revolution against Putin. Not only did Putin view him as a CIA spy, when announcing his "incredible offer" Putin made the falsely connected McFaul to the Magnitsky time period, even though the Magnitsky Act was passed in 2009, a few years before McFaul would be ambassador to Russia.
Instead of seeing Putin's offer as one of trying to get away with corruption, a worldview built on conspiracy theories and paranoia, until we learn why Trump thinks that, all we can ask is "what the fuck?"
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