Trump Admin Sanctions Putin Cronies – Including Russian Oligarch With Lobbyist Ties to Dem Senator Mark Warner

The Trump administration announced Friday it will put sanctions on 7 Russian oligarchs and several companies they own in response to Russia’s ‘continued attacks to subvert Western democracies.’

One of the seven oligarchs designated Friday, Oleg Deripaska is linked to Democrat Senator Mark Warner through a Washington lobbyist.

Virginia Dem Senator Mark Warner previously used the lobbyist of Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska to organize a secret meeting with dossier author Christopher Steele.

The Hill reported:

“The Russian government engages in a range of malign activity around the globe,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government’s destabilizing activities.”

“This [is a] response to Russia’s continued attacks to subvert Western democracies,” a senior administration official said.

Those now sanctioned include Oleg Deripaska, an oligarch with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who has been indicted in the special counsel’s investigation into the Kremlin’s election-meddling efforts.

Via US Department of Treasury:

Oleg Deripaska is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a senior official of the Government of the Russian Federation, as well as pursuant to E.O. 13662 for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy.  Deripaska has said that he does not separate himself from the Russian state.  He has also acknowledged possessing a Russian diplomatic passport, and claims to have represented the Russian government in other countries.  Deripaska has been investigated for money laundering, and has been accused of threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering.  There are also allegations that Deripaska bribed a government official, ordered the murder of a businessman, and had links to a Russian organized crime group.

In February of 2017, Vice Chair of the Senate Intel Committee Mark Warner secretly text messaged Washington lawyer Adam Waldman who also happens to represent Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in an effort to organize a secret meeting with Christopher Steele.

According to an exclusive story by Fox News, Senator Warner was aware of the questionable nature of his politically-motivated contact with the lobbyist and repeatedly urged for “secrecy.”