Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rand’s father, Ron Paul, who raised over a million dollars for his 2012 campaign via a Russian news subsidiary seems to be a big Putin fan-boy. Ron Paul’s grandson-in-law and Rand and Ron Paul’s former campaign director was indicted in Sept. 2021 for laundering a campaign donation from a Russian citizen.

Food for thought as Ron’s son, Rand Paul, blocks a US Defense bill which has more to do with US-NATO defense against Russia, than Ukraine per se. The bill allows the US to replace military materials already given to Ukraine, beef up US and NATO defense in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, help Ukrainian refugees (who are largely in NATO countries Poland and Romania), as well as help seize Russian assets. Don’t just look at the title, look at the bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/7691/text Summary https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/Additional%20Ukraine%20Suplemental%20Appropriations%20Act%20Summary.pdf

Ron Paul’s grandson-in-law and Rand and Ron Paul’s former campaign director was indicted in Sept. 2021 for laundering a campaign donation from a Russian citizen: “Benton ultimately filled out a contributor form, indicated that he was the contributor, and used a personal credit card to make a $25,000 contribution. Benton retained the remaining $75,000 of Foreign National 1’s money. Because Benton falsely claimed to have given the contribution himself, three different political committees unwittingly filed reports with the FEC that inaccurately reported Benton, rather than Foreign National 1, as the source of the funds.”
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/political-operatives-indicted-alleged-scheme-involving-illegal-campaign-contribution-2016

A Complaint was filed in July of 2011 with the FEC (Federal Election Commission) about support that a show on RTTV gave Ron Paul in 2011 for his 2012 Presidential campaign. The FEC stated in 2014 that the company was US registered and owned by an American Citizen (Russian born recent migrant), and so that it was not a violation. However, by 2017 the US Justice Department ruled that RTTV and Russian Government funded RT (formerly Russia Today) news were effectively the same and that the owner should register it as a Foreign Agent under FARA. While the FEC ruled in 2014 that “the activities of RTTV at issue here are covered by the press exemption“, the US DOJ stated in 2017 that “although FARA does provide an exception for “bona fide news or journalistic activities,” see 22 U.S.C. § 61 l(d), that statutory exemption does not apply to RTTV America’s activities. The media exemption only applies if a media outlet “is not owned, directed, supervised, controlled, subsidized, or financed, and none of its policies are determined by any foreign principal[.]” Id. As already noted, RTTV America receives funding from TV-Novosti, which retains editorial control over programming content.”

Adam Kokesh on what the US DOJ finally established in 2017 was effectively Russian government owned Russia Today, stated “Yesterday we raised over 1 million dollars for the Ron Paul campaign…” A Complaint argued “that RTTV, which it describes as a registered foreign corporation “funded by the govemment of Russia,” provided air time for Kokesh, an “employee” of RTTV, to promote and raise funds for the presidential campaign of Ron Paul during a June 6,2011… The Complaint provided a portion of the episode’s transcript… “I’d like to end tonight on a note of some good news… Yesterday we raised over 1 million dollars for the Ron Paul campaign….”

(Excerpted from FEC response to Clifford P. Kincaid, President America’s Survival, Inc. in MUR 6481 RTTV America, Inc. Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee, Inc. http://eqs.fec.gov/eqsdocsMUR/14044354314.pdf

Six years after RTTV gave on air support to Ron Paul, the US Justice Department determined that “Based upon your letters of January 4, 2013, and January 9, 2017, documents you have provided to this office, press reports, and other publicly available information, we have determined that RTTV America, Inc. (“RTTV America”) has an obligation to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended, 22 U.S.C. §§ 611-621 (I 995) (“FARA” or the “Act”). RTTV America’s obligation to register arises from its political activities in the United States on behalf of RT and TV-Novosti, both foreign principals under the Act and proxies of the Russian Government, and its related work within the United States as a publicity agent and information-service employee of TV-Novosti… RT and TV-Novosti are Proxies of the Russian Government – RT (formerly “Russia Today”) is a Russian international television network, headquartered in Russia, that disseminates broadcasting content to the United States, among other countries. RT America, according to its Facebook page, “is the US based arm of RT, a 24-hour English language international broadcast news network headquartered in Moscow.” Financial information for RT shows that in 2015, 99.7% of the funds expended by RT (amounting to $285 million) came from the Russian government.4 Accordingly, RT meets the definition of a “foreign principal” pursuant to FARA. See 22 U.S.C. § 61 l(b)(3)… Moreover, the U.S. Intelligence Community has assessed that RT also serves as the Russian Government’s “principal international propaganda outlet. “Indeed, Russian President Vladimir Putin has explicitly said that “[RT] is funded by the [Russian] government, so it cannot help but reflect the Russian Government’s official position on the events in our country and in the rest of the world.” Similarly, RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, has acknowledged that “since RT receives its budget from the state, it must complete tasks given by the state. “. Simonyan has also referred to RT as “an information weapon,”…. RTTV America Is an Agent of Both RT and TV-Novosti RTTV America describes itself as a “Broadcasting and Media Production Company,” and it operates in the United States on behalf of RT, for whom it is an alter ego. The website that RTTV America lists on its Facebook page is the website for RT, and it apparently operates from the same offices in Washington, DC that RT uses. RTTV America, therefore, operates as an agent of RT for purposes of FARA. Relatedly, RTTV America also operates as an agent of TV-Novosti. According to your correspondence with us and the contractual documents attached thereto, RTTV America has provided two types of services to TV-Novosti. First, from at least August 11, 2005, until August 1, 2014, two “production agreements” obligated RTTV America to produce television programs and news segments in the United States, which were uploaded to TV-Novosti and then broadcast almost immediately within the United States. Second, since at least April 5, 2007, pursuant to other agreements, RTTV America has arranged for the distribution in the United States of RT, the television channel, by purchasing broadcast channel access from hotels and cable companies and reselling that access to TV-Novosti “to broadcast RT.”… Finally, although you have not raised it, we note that although FARA does provide an exception for “bona fide news or journalistic activities,” see 22 U.S.C. § 61 l(d), that statutory exemption does not apply to RTTV America’s activities. The media exemption only applies if a media outlet “is not owned, directed, supervised, controlled, subsidized, or financed, and none of its policies are determined by any foreign principal[.]” Id. As already noted, RTTV America receives funding from TV-Novosti, which retains editorial control over programming content…” (Excerpted from US DOJ, August I 7, 2017, Heather Hunt, Chief, FARA Registration Unit ) https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000160-79a9-d762-a374-7dfbebe30001

Registration here: https://www.fara.gov/docs/6496-Short-Form-20171211-2.pdf

One page from FEC response to Clifford P. Kincaid, President America’s Survival, Inc. in MUR 6481 RTTV America, Inc. Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee, Inc. http://eqs.fec.gov/eqsdocsMUR/14044354314.pdf

“Adam vs. The Man
Adam vs. The Man was a talk show which was available in a variety of formats, such as AM radio, web-access, podcast and Facebook-linked YouTube channel. Initially airing in 2011 as an evening two-hour broadcast on KIVA AM 1550 talk radio in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Adam vs. The Man then shifted to a half-hour video news format on RT before fully moving to the internet as an hour-long video podcast. On April 7, 2014, AVTM 4.0 was launched from Los Angeles, CA, and could be viewed live daily from noon to 2 PM, Pacific Time.
RT America
Adam vs. The Man was licensed by Russia Today’s US affiliate in April 2011. The move was criticized by Accuracy in Media’s columnist Cliff Kincaid who referenced his own column entry from 2008 discussing RT’s coverage of the Russia–Georgian War in which he condemned RT for “preferring to use foreigners, especially Americans, to make Russian propaganda points”[53][54]before stating that “the American Marine Veteran, Adam Kokesh, seems to fit the bill, having emerged as an anti-war activist who ran as a Republican for Congress and supported Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) for president”.[55] Slate writer David Weigelquoted Kokesh describing RT’s model, saying: “Truth is the best propaganda. I love it! I really love the concept of that. It’s funny: People say we’re hiding shit as a network. No, no—we put the fact that this is propaganda right out front. We’re putting out the truth that no one else wants to say. I mean, if you want to put it in the worst possible abstract, it’s the Russian government, which is a competing protection racket against the other governments of the world, going against the United States and calling them on their bullshit.”[56]
After only a few months on RT, Adam vs. The Man was canceled in August by that network to avoid potential legal problems stemming from an FEC complaint filed against RT by the group America’s Survival, Inc. over the matter of Kokesh endorsing Ron Paul for President (thereby allegedly running afoul of the Foreign Agents Registration Act).[57]…” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Kokesh#Adam_vs._The_Man

“Russian meddling in U.S. elections may go back to the Tea Party ‘revolution’ of 2008: Ukrainian botnets and an inner circle with questionable associations” by Louis Anslow, Aug 28, 2017 https://timeline.com/ron-paul-russia-hacking-e248f87f38f2

Excerpts from “Russia Today President Facing Prison for Tax Fraud” Alexei Iazlovsky pleaded guilty to tax fraud last July” By Alana Goodman April 1, 2014 4:07 pm: “a W-2 federal tax form provided to the Washington Free Beacon by a RT America editorial employee showed that the staffer was employed by RTTV America, Inc. Corporate filings for RTTV America, Inc. show that it is located at the same addresses as RT America’s four U.S.-based bureaus in Washington, D.C., New York, Florida, and California….” Read the article here: https://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-today-president-facing-prison-for-tax-fraud/

“Russia’s RT Set to Go Off the Air in Washington Area” Last Updated: March 31, 2018 11:53 AM, by Masood Farivar https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-rt-off-air-washington-area/4323030.html

While it was fun to watch Rand Paul go after Fauci, since February 24th it has become clear that Russia instrumentalised legitimate concerns about vaccines to lure Americans into their sites and distract Americans from Russia’s military build-up in the Arctic, Ukraine, etc. Overnight, most of these sites changed from being concerned with vaccines to supporting Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It is notable that the attention was on experimental mRNA vaccines and not the experimental viral vector DNA vaccines of the sort exported by Russia (Sputnik V). J&J and AstroZeneca are also viral vector vaccines. The viral vector vaccines use fetal tissue in production, so are even more “abortion tainted”. Even at the time, some felt that Paul was having fun playing cat and mouse with Fauci without really doing anything.

A slight rewrite of:

Host On RTTV Supported Ron Paul (Rand’s Pa) For President In 2012; Claimed To Have Raised Over $1 Million For Him; RTTV Was Finally Forced To Register As A Russian Foreign Agent In 2017