Trump's Ambassador To Russia Will Share Stage With Steve Cohen's Oligarch

By Frances Langum — May 14, 2018

Follow the money. Bloomberg writes about Jon Huntsman:

The U.S. ambassador to Moscow, pushing to build business ties with Russia, is scheduled to join a panel discussion this month at the Kremlin’s premier economic forum with Viktor Vekselberg, an oligarch slapped with American sanctions and linked to payments to Donald Trump’s lawyer.

Jon Huntsman, appointed by Trump last year, has been encouraging American business leaders to attend the St. Petersburg forum for the first time since the Ukraine crisis, even as political tensions between the Cold War rivals continue to rise. The U.S. government had in past years actively lobbied executives to steer clear of President Vladimir Putin’s main annual pitch for foreign investors after Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014.

Vekselberg? That name sounds...wait, is that the guy giving big bucks to Michael Cohen? No, really?

SCOOP: FBI made unusual warning four years ago about the foundation controlled by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, now alleged to given $$ to Michael Cohen.https://t.co/5qT5eYd97J pic.twitter.com/9hKRZhsuvJ

— Tim Mak (@timkmak) May 11, 2018

Fun facts: Vekselberg was at both the inauguration & the notorious Flynn-Putin dinner in Russia. https://t.co/6x7PF5KPJi

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) May 9, 2018

Adam Schiff just said on All In with Chris Hayes that Viktor Vekselberg was on the House Intelligence Committee’s radar but Devin Nunes/the GOP wouldn’t allow anybody to look into the Russian oligarch. Nunes is going to be remembered as one of the biggest traitors in US history.

— Adam Best (@adamcbest) May 9, 2018

I keep hearing that the one thing Trump is good at is Reality TV, but is no one in charge of optics when it comes to Russia?

I guess they only care what one person thinks about their Russia policy, and that's Putin.

“This is horrifying. Please don’t go be a pawn at Putin’s 'invest-in-Russia' campaign. And for the love of all that’s holy, don’t do a panel with an SDN” (the abbreviation for those subject to the strictest sanctions, like Vekselberg).#Russia https://t.co/ja74btOkn2 pic.twitter.com/Z0oJkO38nS

— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) May 12, 2018

Jon Huntsman, ambassador to Moscow, is encouraging US business leaders to attend a forum at which he will appear on stage with Viktor Vekselberg, the sanctioned oligarch who gave money to Trump's lawyer. https://t.co/fhJwWnZrVT

— Nick Fox (@NickFoxNYT) May 12, 2018

Our ambassador to Russia, billionaire Republican Jon Huntsman is holding an economic summit with Vekselberg this month. The collusion continues. https://t.co/qD9eywDJOS

— Save the web rant (@web_rant) May 12, 2018

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