Paul Whelan, the Butina Bargaining Chip. Looks like itās a bad time to do business or be a tourist in Russia.
So in a tit-for-tat, we should start arresting Russian agents in the US.
How about we start with Donnie Jr. Eric, and Jarvanka?
Letās start with Don Sr.
I do wonder what this guy is really about, his bio is a bit sketchy. He could easily be a low level wanna be spy/grifter FOR Russia that is disposable to the Kremlin. Then again, everyone is disposable to the Kremlin.
Obviously I donāt know whatās really going on here, but something is off. Sure, heās a trade for Butina, but the back story is still pretty murky to me.
OKā¦so we know heās not the brightest bulb on the tree.
I heard his brother on NPR and was struck by the fact that his own twin didnāt know heād gotten a bad-conduct discharge. I also wondered with that blot on his copybook, how could he be head of global security for a company?
Meanwhile, from The Guardian:
The US ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, visited Whelan in prison on Wednesday, a move described as āa rookie mistakeā by one Russian foreign policy analyst.
āHe should have sent a career consular officer,ā said Vladimir Frolov. āAn ambassadorial visit by a political appointee escalates the situation and raises the stakes, makes it harder to resolve the situation.ā
link to the Guardian story, maybe just some amateur playing smart.
Moscow spy charges: ex-marine āarrested after USB drive pickupā
Paul Whelan had drive with classified list of names when detained, claims news agency
Paul Whelan: ex-US marine held in Moscow charged with spying | Russia | The Guardian
Apparently he got dishonorable discharge for larceny.
Regarding the Huntsman move, I donāt know, whatās the precedence from the US side of it? Just because the Kremlin or foreign policy analyst is saying that certainly doesnāt make it so. Makes sense I suppose but doesnāt make it so and the Kremlin lies about everything.
Well, that certainly explains his love for Comrade Cockholster somewhat.
It would be unusal for an ambassador to show up for a random tourist, normally that would be consular level stuff.
But the Trump admin is proud of its amateurism, so why not ?
It seems odd for Huntsman to make a ārookieā mistake like that though. Heās been ambassador to Singapore and China in the past, so heās no amateur. Though maybe he just doesnāt know what the āprocedureā is in Russia.
Wouldnāt be surprised to learn that this whole thing is a set up, with arch-Trumpist Whelan in the know.
Good point, he should know better. I wondered if it could be a āFellow Utahanā thing or something.
Edit Or he has blue balls for a 2020 run and tries to build up his media footprintā¦
Aw heck. Letās start at the top and arrest the Orange Menace hisownself.
That was my first thought.
Putin wants that little red head back in Mother Russia ASAP. Every second she cooperates with Mueller is sticking in his craw. The Dotard is on the EXACT same page as Putin in this, so they came up with a plan. Grab an American hostage to:
- Distract the Media from the escalating WH shitshow
- Allow the Dotard to wring his hands about this POOR guy and go all empathy empathy bullshit
- Try to swap hostage for Butina.
Wonāt work, but itās good for a few news cycles. And it is TOTALLY garbage.
Going once, going twiceā¦SOLD for a Butina-swap!!!
Thank goodness Pelosi in back in the power seat
A thumb drive with a list of classified names? Does that scream setup to anyone else? (The only problem with people like trump and his supporters is that they could easily be that stupid.)