Amazing yet not unsurprising is the
following story from Putin who apparently is now aligned with Trump in his revenge
campaign tour for 2024 as reported on here from MSNBC with this headline:
“Putin uses sanctions
to target Trump’s perceived U.S. foes”
Vladimir Putin’s government has expanded
its list of sanctioned Americans, this time targeting Trump’s perceived
domestic foes.
There’s plenty of precedent for Russia imposing sanctions on prominent Americans who’ve criticized Vladimir Putin’s government.
Nearly a decade ago, for example, after Russia took Crimea, the Kremlin faced bipartisan condemnations in Washington, D.C.
Soon after, Moscow announced sanctions against Republicans such as then-House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), as well as several Democrats, including then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and then-Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA).
None of the officials,
it’s worth noting for context, seemed especially bothered except for Mary
Landrieu who launched a campaign Ad bragging about it.
But in each instance,
Russia’s sanctions at least made some sense: They targeted prominent
American policymakers, each of whom had at least some role in U.S. foreign
policy, and each of whom had criticized Moscow’s policies to one degree or
another.
Things are different now: The NY Times reported that Russia expanded their list of Putin’s sanctioned Americans now and is “adopting perceived enemies of Trump as his own.”
Among those singled out for travel and financial
restrictions are seen as adversaries of Trump. The list includes those three
highlighted above: (1) NY AG Letitia
James, who sued Trump for allege fraud; (2) DOJ S/C Jack Smith, investigating Trump and his efforts to overturn
the 2020 election and his handling of highly classified documents after leaving
office with focus on Mar-a-Lago; and, (3) GA
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who rebuffed Trump’s pressure to
“find 11,780” votes to reverse the outcome of the election for him to be
declared the winner.
What do James, Smith, and Raffensperger have to do with U.S.
foreign policy? Nothing. What kind of condemnations have they issued in
reference to the Kremlin and its policies? As best as we can tell, they’ve
hardly said a word.
But Trump doesn’t like them, and for Putin, that’s
apparently enough.
Perhaps the most amazing of all is that Putin also imposed sanctions on Lt. Michael Byrd, whose name might not seem familiar: He’s the Federal Capitol Police officer who shot rioter Ashli Babbitt during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (FYI: His exclusive interview can be seen here and it is worth watching).
The NY Times report added:
“The Russian Foreign Ministry offered no specific explanation for why they
would be included on the list but did say that among its targets were ‘those in
government and law enforcement agencies’ who were directly involved in the
persecution of dissidents in the wake of the so-called storming of the
Capitol.”
The use of the phrase “so-called
storming,” of course, was unsubtle. The Kremlin isn’t just targeting
Trump’s perceived domestic foes, Putin and his government are even embracing
Trump’s preferred rhetorical framings about stories the Republican doesn’t
like.
It’s tempting to think Moscow sees Trump as some kind of partner, and as the former president tries to reclaim his old White House office. Putin wants to leave little doubt that he would be aligned with a Republican administration.
As for the reactions from those sanctioned, Raffensperger hasn’t yet run any Landrieu-like commercials, but he did seem rather pleased with the developments.
My 2 Cents: No coordination or collusion between Trump and Putin, um? Yeah, right, and the Sun rises in the West, too. Case closed – Trump is going down hard. Wait & see.
Thanks for stopping by.
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