The Manafort Resignation: Robby Mook on Why the Bromance Survives
If you thought Paul Manafort's ouster from the Trump campaign
signaled a pivot away from Trump's outreach to Putin, think again. Robby
Mook has a message for you. Manafort's Russian/Ukranian ties were
just a bump in the Trump road to the Kremlin.
Friday,
Hillary For American Campaign Manager Robby Mook issued the following
statement on the resignation of Trump’s Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort:
"Paul
Manafort’s resignation is a clear admission that the disturbing
connections between Donald Trump's team and pro-Kremlin elements in
Russia and Ukraine are untenable. But this is not the end of the
story. It’s just the beginning. You can get rid of Manafort, but that
doesn't end the odd bromance Trump has with Putin. Trump still has to
answer serious questions hovering over his campaign given his propensity
to parrot Putin’s talking points, the roster of advisers like Carter
Page and Mike Flynn with deep ties to Russia, the recent Russian
government hacking and disclosure of Democratic Party records, and
reports that Breitbart published articles advocating pro-Kremlin
positions on Ukraine. It's also time for Donald Trump to come clean on
his own business dealings with Russian interests, given recent news
reports about his web of deep financial connections to business groups
with Kremlin ties.”
HFA also released a new video on Donald Trump’s tendency to echo Vladimir Putin’s talking points:
On
the 25th anniversary of the 1991 coup, Fiona Clark takes a look at what
might be prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s shuffling of
positions within the Kremlin walls.
Over
the past few months Putin has been shaking things up a bit inside the
Kremlin walls. But the question is, why? The most recent and high
profile movement is the demotion of his long-time friend and ally, Sergei Ivanov, from his position as chief of Putin's administration.
Ivanov
has been at the president's side since their days in the KGB in the
1970's. When Putin was running the KGB's successor, the FSB, Ivanov was
his deputy and he took over from Putin when he moved into politics. He
soon followed his leader to the Kremlin when Putin appointed him as
defense minister and later deputy prime minister, and just over four
years ago he stepped in to head up the administration. In terms of
Kremlin hierarchy, he was said to be number 3. Now, as he moves to take
up the role of "special presidential representative for environmental
protection, ecology and transport" you'd be lucky to find a ticket with
enough numbers on it to describe where he sits in the power pyramid.
This
demotion may well an act of kindness by the president: Giving
a man bereft with grief over the death of his son in 2014 a bit of
space in a less high-profile position to recover. After all he has kept
his position on the country's Security Council. But it can equally be
seen as one more demotion, firing, removal or sideways push as the
president restructures departments and shuffles the deck chairs around.
Birds of a feather. Trump is Putin's foot in the door of this election. No
matter what the UK and Irish bookies are saying about the U.S. election,
Putin's rubles are on Trump. How this can possibly sit well with the
"America First" crowd defies logic and patriotism.
