A few days ago, former National Security Agency analyst and counterintelligence officer John Schindler noted on Twitter that the Russia investigation would eventually take down not just Republicans, but Democrats as well. “If you think the coming takedown of Kremlin spy-influence networks in DC will only bag people you dislike,” he said, “consider hiding in a cave now.” And, today, in an article written for the Observer titled “The Real John Conyers Scandal Has Nothing to Do With Sex,” Schindler followed through on his threat, making the case against Michigan’s beloved Democratic icon has been doing the work of the Kremlin for years… Here’s a clip.
…In June 2015, Conyers went on a tirade against Ukraine on the floor of the House, denouncing Kyiv’s military as “neo-Nazi”—a slander that was quickly parroted by Kremlin mouthpieces online. He stated that Ukraine should not get anti-aircraft missiles from Washington, citing as evidence the shootdown of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, the murder of 299 innocents—without noting that it was Russians, not Ukrainians, who downed the civilian airliner. It comes as no surprise that the bill amendment before the House to block anti-air missiles for Ukraine that was sponsored by Conyers was arranged by the notorious pro-Kremlin lobbyist Paul Manafort—the very same swamp macher who’s now facing indictments over his shady ties to President Trump and the Russians.
Conyers’ decades of spouting unfiltered Kremlin propaganda is so notorious in Washington that last year the Huffington Post, nobody’s idea of a right-wing outlet, ran a piece on him entitled “Putin’s Man in Congress.” That charge seems fair, based on the evidence, and is something that needs public discussion, particularly as Washington prepares to root out Moscow’s secret spy-propaganda apparatus in our nation’s capital.
That dirty apparat has been at work for decades. Kremlin disinformation didn’t begin with Donald Trump, and any thorough investigation of Russian espionage will reveal plenty of collaborators in Washington, on both sides of the political aisle. Some of them will even be Democratic “icons.” If the “resistance” isn’t willing to confront the bipartisan nature of the Kremlin’s clandestine political warfare against our country, they need to get out of the amateur counterspy business before they do real damage to our democracy.
If I had to guess, I’d say that we won’t have Conyers in the House much longer, given the seriousness of the sexual harassment charges he’s now facing, but it does make one wonder where the Russia investigation, if we really take it seriously, and allow it to unfold naturally, might lead. Just how much further will we allow the investigation to go once we move beyond members of the Trump administration? Will Dana Rohrabacher be held accountable for his interactions with the Kremlin? And will the Democrats, assuming they have some power after 2018, still be as enthusiastic about the investigation, once members of their own party are being called to testify?
5 Comments
Wow. Glen Greenwald and Conyers must be great pals then (quick google search shows quite a mutual admiration society…) For years I have been listening to people on the far left hold up Cuba, Venezuela and even Russia as some kind of alternative model. Many were so committed that, even after visiting these places (on highly curated tours), they would proselytize their cultural and economic superiority and blame the US for all woes. I have had young leftist friends go to socialist and communist places and come back chastened, but not the hard core, older revolutionaries. I’m fine with the Russia investigation, just like the #metoo movement, dredging up some bad eggs among the Dems as well. We should expect as much. And please let Jill Stein go down with them…
Thanks for bringing our attention to this.
Bomb the Russians they are our Historic enemy and nothing good can ever come from being friendly with them. They Hate our Freedoms and are the ones behind Trump. Drive all their sniveling Fellow Travelers out of the country . Anyone who has ever said a nice thing about the Russkies is our enemy.
You might notice that Russiagate has pretty much disappeared and the Mueller investigation is looking at other parties to influence peddling, like the Turks. I imagine they are just more Russian patsies.
Jean, “some bad eggs among the Democrats”, the party is riddled with corruption and will foist another corporate tool on us ensuring Trump gets reelected. After all the Democrats have been the party of appeasement, soft on Communism. Hell, Obama lifted the embargo, an obvious plan to accelerate the moral decay of our Homeland.
The Washington Post is the mouth piece of the CIA the only true defenders of our Freedoms. Anyone who doubts the CIA is a Russian dube. It is very simple you are either with us (the CIA/ USA USA USA) or you are against us.
Wobblie— The only person spouting ‘with us or against us’ rhetoric here is you. There is no purge of leftists going on. No one is arguing for tighter sanctions on Cuba. But Cuba’s suffering is not entirely our fault. They have had access to trade with every other nation. They had nothing to trade. The US has tried with every president since Reagan to improve relations with the Russians. It never works. Putin is a totalitarian asshole. If Conyers was in any way in their pocket, more than just an admirer of them or a supporter of friendlier relations, and the investigation demonstrates that, let the cards fall where they may. The larger issue of leftists being so full of hate towards American imperialism that they fail to see (or believe) the role of other countries in anything foreign policy related is one you just amply demonstrated.
Every political perspective has its blond spots.
Wobblie— Just spent a half hour catching up on the Russia investigation. Flynn is about to cut a deal with Mueller and team. Looks like they are getting closer to Trump. My guess is Kushner may be the next indictment. You have said all along this is nothing. These things take a long time (2 years for watergate— and there were tapes) .
Anyone want to bet on when Wobblie concedes it’s anything more than an elaborate CIA ruse?
I take never.
Let’s keep our eyes on the ball. The rest of this collusion stuff will come along soon enough. Stay focused on Trump and his families financial dealings (Apprentice in the White House). Deflection is the name of the game for him and his team. Oh and by the way, there is a tax plan going through Congress. To paraphrase Nancy Pelosi on Meet The Press after Chuck Todd’s insulting interview with her, “Do you mean we are going to spend all our time on this and not talk about the tax plan which will affect all Americans in some way?”