May 12, 2019

Russia's lasting grip on Christian conservatives

https://www.salon.com/2019/05/04/russias-lasting-grip-on-christian-conservatives_partner/?fbclid=IwAR0I_VxT2RzZrg-5wJA35RqOvq6nIBOErpmzF_brhR7ByTjYF8qE5XD67IE
"Despite being sanctioned by the US Department of Treasury and the European Union for crimes in Ukraine, the same Russians under investigation for meeting with National Rifle Association (NRA) members are using Christian fundamentalist groups as a conduit to influence lawmakers. Russians continue to skirt around sanctions by penetrating American churches and “family values” nonprofit organizations, and by manipulating IRS 501(c) loopholes, which do not require these groups to disclose their donations. This is similar to the way members of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle infiltrated the NRA. Recently disclosed documents reveal that, over the last decade, at least $50 million has been dumped into fascist European fundamentalist groups. The list of donors includes former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon; Trump legal advisor, who converted from Judaism to become a Christian televangelist, Jay Sekulow; US Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos; and DeVos’s brother, former Blackwater mercenary founder turned Virginia cattle rancher, Erik Prince."