#unregistered foreign agent

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The “missing” witness long-touted by Republicans in Congress as the missing link to their probe into alleged Biden family corruption was accused of being an unregistered foreign agent for China and an international arms trafficker while violating U.S. sanctions on Iran and lying to investigators, among a laundry list of other federal charges unsealed Monday.

Dual U.S.-Israeli citizen Gal Luft was originally charged on Nov. 1, 2022 and arrested in February, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York.

Luft had already skipped out on his bail while in Cyprus awaiting extradition to the U.S. for the case in March—though he alleges that the sprawling case against him represents political persecution and retaliation by the Biden administration against a potential witness.

The House Oversight Committee has for months touted a secret “informant” who could provide evidence of an alleged “quid pro quo” deal for foreign aid between an Obama-era Biden and an unnamed country—though details of the arrangement remain murky and unverified at best.

Those claims partially unraveled when Rep. James Comer (R-KY) in May held a much-hyped press conference in which he promised to expose the preliminary findings of four months’ worth of scrutiny into the Biden family’s business dealings—while failing to air any real evidence of corruption. He then offered a partial excuse for the failure: their star witness had up and disappeared.

The situation was memorialized in a much-publicized Fox News interview, in which a credulous Maria Bartiromo appeared shocked by the revelations.

“Well, unfortunately, we can’t track down the informant,” the Kentucky representative said. “We’re hopeful that the informant is still there. The whistleblower knows the informant. The whistleblower is very credible.”

“We’re hopeful that we can find the informant,” Comer added. “Remember, these informants are kind of in the spy business, so they don’t make a habit of being seen a lot or being high-profile or anything like that.”

Luft then came forward days later in an interview with New York Post opinion columnist Miranda Devine, alleging that he was hiding out in an undisclosed location after being arrested on charges including international arms dealing, as well as a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, among other charges.

“The chances of me getting a fair trial in Washington are virtually zero,” he told Devine as the reason he skipped out on his bail. “I had to do what I had to do.”

Despite the allegations, Comer doubled down on Friday, tweeting that Luft is a “very credible witness on Biden family corruption,” who “provided incriminating evidence to six officials from the FBI and the DOJ in a meeting in Brussels in March 2019.”

“We have no reason to believe the FBI & DOJ acted on this info,” he continued.

On Sunday, Republican Senator Ron Johnson (WI) added Luft should be granted immunity.

“Now, he’s literally fleeing for his life right now,” Johnson told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “He’s on the run. He’s an important witness. He needs to be granted immunity to be able to testify and tell his story.”

Monday’s unsealed charges add some clarity to the laundry list of alleged crimes Luft is accused of—including a 2016 scheme to “recruit and pay” a White House adviser to support China-friendly policies without first filing as a foreign agent.

According to a release from the Justice Department, Luft is also accused of brokering arms deals with Chinese businesses to sell their wares in places such as the United Arab Emirates, Kenya and Libya—all without a valid U.S. license. Federal authorities allege that they have proof Luft hawked anti-tank launchers, grenade launchers, mortar rounds, aerial bombs, rockets and even drones.

To make matters worse, Justice Department prosecutors say he lied to them during interviews about the alleged scheme.

“During a voluntary interview with U.S. law enforcement in which he was asked questions about his involvement in arms trafficking, LUFT made multiple false statements, including that he had not sought to engage in or profit from arms deals,” the department’s statement reads.

Luft is also accused of brokering deals for Iranian oil—which he falsely labeled “Brazilian”—in violation of U.S. sanctions.

In all, Luft faces 36 counts that carry a maximum of 100 years in prison, according to the Justice Department.

#us politics #news #republicans #conservatives #president joe biden #biden administration #the daily beast #2023 #unregistered foreign agent #foreign spy #china #international arms trafficker #arms dealer #Iran #Gal Luft #sdny #rep. james comer #House Oversight Committee #Maria Bartiromo #fox news network #Miranda Devine #New York Post #Foreign Agents Registration Act #international arms dealing #sen. ron johnson

[originalleftist]

Pictured below: Wanted war criminal Vladimir Putin telling his dog that he's a good boy.

(Photo: Putin sitting for an "interview" with Tucker Carlson)

#Tucker Carlson #Fake Journalist #Propagandist #Traitor #Unregistered Foreign Agent #Putin #War Criminal #The Hague #Republican Traitors #Vote Blue #Slava Ukrainii

[jbfly46]

Unregistered foreign agent = spy

#Hunter Biden #tax crimes #spying #unregistered foreign agent

[theculturedmarxist]

The Biden administration's Department of Justice has just charged four members of the African People's Socialist Party (APSP) for conspiring to act as agents of Russia by using speech and political action in ways the DOJ says "weaponized" the First Amendment rights of Americans.

The Washington Post reports:

Federal authorities charged four Americans on Tuesday with roles in a malign campaign pushing pro-Kremlin propaganda in Florida and Missouri — expanding a previous case that charged a Russian operative with running illegal influence agents within the United States.

The FBI signaled its interest in the alleged activities in a series of raids last summer, at which point authorities charged a Moscow man, Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, with working for years on behalf of Russian government officials to fund and direct fringe political groups in the United States. Among other things, Ionov allegedly advised the political campaigns of two unidentified candidates for public office in Florida.

Ionov’s influence efforts were allegedly directed and supervised by officers of the FSB, a Russian government intelligence service.

Now, authorities have added charges against four Americans who allegedly did Ionov’s bidding through groups including the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement in Florida, Black Hammer in Georgia, and an unidentified political group in California — part of an effort to influence American politics.

AFP reports that the conspiracy charges carry a sentence of up to ten years, with three of the four APSP members additionally charged with acting as unregistered agents of Russia which carries another five years.

“Russia’s foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponized our First Amendment rights – freedoms Russia denies its own citizens – to divide Americans and interfere in elections in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen in the DOJ's press release regarding the indictments, adding, “The department will not hesitate to expose and prosecute those who sow discord and corrupt U.S. elections in service of hostile foreign interests, regardless of whether the culprits are U.S. citizens or foreign individuals abroad.”

Looks like the United States has decided to dispense with those freedoms as well.

The superseding indictment containing these charges consists of a lot of verbal gymnastics to obfuscate the fact that the DOJ is prosecuting US citizens for speech and political activities in the United States which happen not to align with the wishes of the US government. The grand jury alleges that the aforementioned Ionov "directed" these Americans to "publish pro-Russian propaganda" and "information designed to cause dissention in the United States," which is about as vague and amorphous an allegation as you could possibly come up with. 

For the record Omali Yeshitela, the founder and chairman of the African People's Socialist Party and one of the four Americans named in the indictment, has adamantly denied ever having worked for Russia. Earlier this month before charges were brought against him, the Tampa Bay Times quoted him as saying, "I ain’t ever worked for a Russian. Never ever ever ever. They know I have never worked for Russia. Their problem is, I’ve never worked for them.”

But it's important to note that this should not matter. Under the First Amendment the government is forbidden to abridge anyone's freedom to speak however they want and associate with whomever they please, which necessarily includes being as vocally pro-Russia as they like and promoting whatever political agendas they see fit, whether that happens to advance the interests of the Russian government or not. The indictment alleges that the four Americans engaged in "agitprop" by "writing articles that contained Russian propaganda and disinformation," but even if we pretend that's both (A) a quantifiable claim and (B) a proven fact, propaganda and disinformation are both speech that the government is constitutionally forbidden from repressing.

It's not reasonable for the government to just dismiss the First Amendment on the grounds that it is being "weaponized". You can't have your government dictating what speech is valid and what counts as "agitprop" and "disinformation", because they'll always define those terms in ways which benefit the government, thus giving more power to the powerful and taking power away from the people. You can't have your government dictating what political groups are legitimate and which ones are tools of a foreign government, because you can always count on the powerful set such designations in ways which benefit themselves. 

There's also the brazen hypocrisy of it all. The US government is constantly engaging in foreign influence operations with outfits like the National Endowment for Democracy, which was set up to help foment coups and color revolutions and advance US information interests overtly in ways the CIA used to do covertly.

As commentator Brian Berletic noted on Twitter, "The US through the National Endowment for Democracy has created armies of organizations carrying out malign influence operations around the world including here in Thailand. When the Thai government attempts to stop this activity, the US embassy shouts 'free speech.' Thailand's government and others around the world could easily cite this move by the US Justice Department to target and uproot US-funded organizations doing exactly this and worse."

So for the US government to now claim it's legitimate to start throwing US citizens in prison for a decade because they published "propaganda" for another country is absurd, and more than a little scary. The most powerful government in the world needs more political dissent at home, not less, and here they are trying to turn it into a crime.

When they claim the members of the APSP published "propaganda" and promoted "dissention", what they really mean is that they engaged in speech and political activism that the US government does not like. The spinmeisters will try to spin it, the legal mumbo-jumbo will try to obfuscate it, but that's what's happening. Don't let them conceal this from you. They're not worried about Russian propaganda, they're worried you'll stop listening to US propaganda.

#us propaganda #caitlin johnstone #African people's socialist party #us censorship #first amendment #russia #new cold war

[soberscientistlife]

The "missing" Hunter Biden witness the GOP was promising for a while there was just charged by the DOJ with being a Chinese spy.

[therealtruthalways]

BREAKING🚨 Rep. James Comer says six banks, including JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, submitted over 170 suspicious activity reports to the Treasury Department regarding the Biden family, alleging their involvement in money laundering, human trafficking, and tax fraud.

The American banks also raised concerns about wire transfers received by the Bidens from foreign state-owned entities, notably from the Chinese government, allegedly for the purpose of money laundering and tax evasion.

The foreign wires were found to be directed towards Biden's business associates before being funneled through 20 shell companies associated with the Bidens. Subsequently, the funds were distributed among various Biden family members.

SARs are vital documents that financial institutions must file with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) when they suspect any cases of money laundering or fraudulent activities.

Rep. Comer highlighted one specific SAR linked to a $3 million wire from China to Biden's business partner, Rob Walker. This money was received in an inactive account that had maintained a $50,000 balance for ten years before the significant wire transaction from China.

Within just 24 hours of receiving the wire, Walker initiated incremental payments to several Biden shell companies, eventually disbursing funds to four different Biden family members.

Comer explained that concealing the source of money through the use of shell companies to deceive the IRS is considered money laundering and racketeering.

He noted that if the funds were intended for legitimate purposes, they could have been wired directly to Hunter Biden, but instead, they were routed through business partners and various companies with no clear legitimate purpose.

Senator Ted Cruz asked, "So the Chinese Communist government was sending the money?"

Rep. Comer replied, "Yes."

"If Hunter Biden was doing something legitimate for China, they could have just wired the money to Hunter Biden, but they didn't," he explained.

"They sent it to a company called Robinson Walker. Then they wired it to a company called Owasco. Then they wired it to another company called Bohai. These companies don't do anything with the money."

Senator Cruz responded, "It's just a bucket to pour the water in, then a bucket to pour it into somewhere else?"

Rep Comer said, "That's exactly what it is and it was organized. This is like organized crime."

When the corporate media foolishly asks where is the evidence that the Bidens committed crimes?

American banks have submitted hundreds of suspicious activity reports on the Biden family, alleging their involvement in human trafficking, money laundering, and tax fraud.

Congressional investigators have obtained bank account records and wire transfer statements on twenty shell companies owned by the Bidens, which were allegedly used for laundering illegally obtained money from China, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Kazakhstan as unregistered foreign agents.

This evidence is supported by hundreds of thousands of emails, tens of thousands of text messages, photographs, audio recordings, calendar statements, and ten years of data from Hunter Biden's laptop, which the FBI took into its possession in 2019.

@MarcoPolo501c3 published a comprehensive "Report on the Biden Laptop," documenting 459 alleged crimes involving the Biden family and their associates, including 140 business crimes, 191 sex crimes, and 128 drug crimes.

A $1,000 reward is offered for any verifiable corrections, but thus far, no crimes have been disputed.

In addition, credible IRS whistleblowers have accused the Justice Department of obstructing the Hunter Biden investigation by blocking felony charges, search warrants, and interviews while preventing any investigation of the President and his family.

Furthermore, just yesterday, a judge highlighted an unprecedented lenient deal offered by the Justice Department to Hunter Biden, which would result in no felony charges or jail time for tax fraud and lying on a gun form.

This DOJ deal would have also granted protection to the First Son from any future prosecution related to illegally obtained money from foreign nations as an unregistered foreign agent.

What is more corrosive and destructive to our nation than a politicized Justice Department that applies different legal standards depending on whether one's last name is Trump or Biden?

[unhonestlymirror]

Nevzorov:

Why is the US stalling on helping Ukraine?

It's simple. Putin has no conscience and honor, but he has money. A lot of money.

Therefore, he is really able to influence processes in the world.

For example, House Speaker Michael Johnson, a Republican and an ardent Trumpist, who rejected the $95 billion relief bill passed in the Senate, got his “position” with the support of a group of russians who donated money to his company through a certain "Ethane".

At that time, "Ethane" was 88 percent owned by three russian citizens - Konstantin Nikolaev, Mikhail Yuryev and Andrey Kunatbaev. It is known that Nikolaev is the main ally of russian president putin.

Konstantin Nikolaev is a 52-year-old billionaire who previously served as Minister of Transport of the russian federation.

Nikolaev and his two partners currently own a third company, Globaltrans, russia's largest private rail transport operator, having previously worked in the rail freight and port business.

He is also a co-owner of Tula Cartridge Works, which supplied ammunition to russian troops during its invasion of Ukraine.

In 2019, Forbes listed the oligarch's fortune at $1.2 billion.

Nikolaev is also known for being the financial backer of Maria Butina, a russian citizen who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2019 after admitting to acting as an unregistered foreign agent to infiltrate conservative political groups and influence foreign policy in russia's interests before and after the 2016 elections.

#usa #mike johnson #stop russian aggression #support ukraine #genocide of ukrainians #russia is a terrorist state

[horsesarecreatures]

Book review: I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

This book is grim, but I’m glad I read it. It is a very eye-opening look into Romania under the rule of it’s communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The main character is a 17 year old boy named Cristian Florescu, who lives with his parents, sister, and grandfather in a one bedroom apartment in Bucharest. One day while he is at school, he is pulled aside by a Securitate agent. The agent somehow knows that he accepted American stamps from the son of his mother’s employer, an American diplomat, which is illegal. The agent blackmails him into becoming an informer on the diplomat family, first by threatening to arrest him, then by threatening to arrest his whole family, and finally by promising him medicine for his grandfather with “leukemia” (is is later discovered that the grandfather was actually poisoned with radiation by the government). Cristian has to decide whether he will fully comply, partially comply, or try to sabotage his missions. 

................................................................................................................................

I knew from watching travel shows like Globe Trekker that things were pretty bad in Romania during that time, but the things I read in this book still shocked me. Ceausescu in some senses put Stalin to shame, and the fact that he was critical of other communist leaders made the West turn a blind eye to the atrocities that were happening under his rule.  Before Romania became the last country in the soviet bloc to have it’s revolution, some things that became normalized in there included:

- Extreme food restrictions that were more severe than the rations during World War II. People had to stand in lines for hours in the cold after their 12 hour work shifts just to get something like a small piece of bread, or cooking oil. If a person over purchased food, they could be imprisoned for 6 months to 5 years.

- Due to Ceausescu wanting to increase the worker population, he encouraged women to have 10 children. They had to undergo forced, unsanitary monthly gynecological exams at work. If they were pregnant, the state tracked their pregnancy. Birth control and abortions became banned.

- The majority of orphans in the state weren't parentless; they just had parents that couldn't afford them. Most orphans were indoctrinated by the state to become Securitate agents. Others were deemed "deficient” and kept in concentration camp-like conditions. 

- It is estimated that about 1 in every 10 people in Romania was an informer at the time. Everyone informed on everyone, and people’s homes were bugged and had hidden cameras in them. It wasn't enough for Ceausescu to isolate the country from the rest of the world; he also had to isolate citizens from each other by creating an atmosphere is mistrust. 

- Children of political dissenters were also at risk of being sent to prisons were they were tortured along with adults. 

- Citizens went years without ever eating fruit. All of Romania’s “good” agricultural products were exported to pay off the debt Ceausescu plunged the country into with his failed oil investments.

- People never knew when they were going to have electricity. This wasn't just due to energy shortages; it was a strategy of the regime to keep citizens powerless through the unpredictability of their lives. Babies in incubators died at hospitals all the time when the power went out without warning. It was also illegal for temperatures to be heated above 16 degrees in the winter.

- Citizens had to report all contact they had with foreigners. It was illegal to own many items, from foreign currency to sofas to unregistered typewriters. 

- Romanians could not leave the country or apply for passports without the risk of being arrested. They also could not choose their own homes, or freely change jobs.

- When Bucharest’s historic buildings were raised and replaced with cement apartment buildings, the dogs that previously lived in the destroyed homes were forced to the streets. As they were starving, they often brutally attacked and killed citizens in packs. 

#i must betray you #ruta sepetys #non-fiction #historical fiction #novel #bookblr #book review

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

😡

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

News of money previously given to House Speaker Mike Johnson's congressional campaign by Russian nationals has re-emerged after the Republican rejected a $95 billion foreign aid bill passed in the Senate.

In 2018, a group of Russians were able to donate to Johnson's bid for the Louisiana seat he eventually won as the money was funneled through the Texas-based American Ethane company.

While American Ethane was co-founded by American John Houghtaling, at the time it was 88% owned by three Russian nationals—Konstantin Nikolaev, Mikhail Yuriev, and Andrey Kunatbaev. Nikolaev is known to be a top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A spokesperson for Johnson previously assured in 2018 that the campaign returned the money that was given to them by American Ethane once it was "made aware of the situation." There was no indication that Johnson's campaign team willfully broke federal law, which makes it illegal for a campaign to knowingly accept donations from a foreign-owned corporation, a foreign national, or any company owned or controlled by foreign nationals.

A number of social media users have now brought up the campaign money amid Johnson's opposition to the long-debated foreign aid bill, which would send $60 billion to Ukraine as the country continues to fight off Russia's invasion.

In a press conference on February 14, Johnson said he would not bring the bill recently passed by the Senate back from a House vote and that the "Republican-led House will not be jammed or forced into passing" the foreign aid bill.

The same day, Ukraine-based blog Fake Off posted on X, formerly Twitter: "US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson received campaign contributions from American Ethane, a company 88% owned by three Russians. Now, do you understand why he was categorically against the aid to Ukraine?"

Another social media user added, while sharing a clip of Johnson's press conference: "Astonishing that the Speaker of the House for the United States Government accepts money from Russia. Konstantin Nikolaev, Mikhail Yuriev, and Andrey Kunatbaev own 88% of American Ethane."

Johnson's office has been contacted for comment via email.

WHO IS KONSTANTIN NIKOLAEV?

The 52-year-old is a billionaire who previously served as minister of transport for the Russian Federation.

Nikolaev and his two partners currently own a third of Globaltrans, Russia's biggest private rail transport operator, and he previously worked in railroad freight and port businesses.

He is also a part owner of Tula Cartridge Works, which has been supplying ammunition for Russian forces during its invasion of Ukraine.

In 2019, Forbes listed the oligarch's net worth at $1.2 billion.

Nikolaev is also known for being a financial backer of Maria Butina, a Russian citizen who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2019 after admitting to acting as an unregistered foreign agent to infiltrate conservative political groups and influence foreign policy to Russia's benefit before and after the 2016 election.

The money that Nikolaev and the other two Russian nationals managed to donate to Johnson's 2018 campaign was also brought up after the Republican was elected House Speaker last October.

"Putin pal Konstantin Nikolaev, who handled Russian spy Maria Butina, was also the principal stockholder in American Ethane Co. when they donated over $37,000 to Mike Johnson's election campaign. Does anyone else think that might be a problem?" posted X user @Davegreenidge57.

#us politics #news #republicans #conservatives #gop #speaker of the house #rep. mike johnson #russia #foreign lobbiest #American Ethane #Konstantin Nikolaev #Mikhail Yuriev #Andrey Kunatbaev #Vladimir Putin #campaign donations #foreign aid bill #Russian Federation #Tula Cartridge Works #Maria Butina #newsweek #2024

[1americanconservative]

[niradhikari]

Speaker Johnson has flip flopped from his earlier principled position of full support for Ukraine’s victory.

Turns out Speaker Mike Johnson was a beneficiary of Russian campaign funds for his political career! He and GOP congresspersons must join to pass Ukraine Aid and end hostage taking with unrelated crisis.

In fact GOP initially wanted a “stand alone” bill! May be someone could talk some sense into the Speaker, he has a job to do, “legislating”, and not play hostage games!

"A group of Russian nationals were able to donate to newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson's campaign in 2018 by funneling the money through a U.S. company." – Ewan Palmer

One of the men behind the company, Nikolaev, an oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was also found to have financially backed Maria Butina, a Russian citizen who lived in Washington D.C. Butina was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2019 after admitting to acting as an unregistered foreign agent to infiltrate conservative political groups and influence foreign policy to Russia's benefit before and after the 2016 election.” More at https://www.newsweek.com/house-speaker-mike-johnson-donations-russia-butina-1838501

#gophypocrisy #speakerjohnson #housespeaker #speakermikejohnson #democracymatters #internationallaw #lawsofwar #ukraine #armukrainenow #russiaukrainewar #stoprussia #uncharter #humanrights #peacekeeping #peaceandsecurity #peacethroughstrenth #justpeace #Newsweek. #gop #ukraineaid #speaker mike johnson #mike johnson

[afurioushawk]

The reality show that is the House of Representatives has been the craziest shit from Congress I’ve ever seen in my life. In the past seven months, we’ve had:

Starting things off right, the Speaker taking fifteen votes to get elected. The last time it took more than one vote to secure a Speaker was over a hundred years ago. And on the fourteenth vote, Rogers had to be restrained from attacking Gaetz after he voted against McCarthy again when they were all supposed to have been on the same page at that point.

Hyperfocusing on Hunter Biden because the House GOP believes that the deletion of his nonconsenual nudes from Twitter was a move on Joe Biden’s part to influence the 2020 election (despite him not being in office at the time). It’s been nonstop talk about Hunter’s dick pics for months. You haven’t seen Republicans this obsessed with Democratic cock since Clinton’s BJ.

The House GOP pushing to dismantle the FBI and DOJ for “going woke” AKA for not stopping the indictments against 45 and not stopping the upcoming indictments against certain members of Congress.

Gaetz citing a Chinese propaganda newspaper as evidence during a House Armed Services committee hearing about US aid to Ukraine.

The Freedom Caucus voting to tank the world economy, forcing the House Dems to swoop in and save the day (and by extension, McCarthy, since it was his bill).

Santos being indicted on thirteen counts of wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds, and lying on federal disclosure forms. And the House GOP have refused to have a vote on whether or not to impeach him because they need his vote.

Higgins roughly manhandling a civilian on tape.

Higgins sending a militia-coded message after 45′s second indictment telling his supporters to take the bridges and prepare for conflict.

The House GOP censuring Schiff for no reason whatsoever except out of retaliation, which backfired on the House GOP because now he’s raking in record-breaking fundraising and poised to win the CA senate seat.

Greene and Boebert getting into a pissing contest because Boebert introduced articles of impeachment against Biden first when Greene had been working for months to do it, culminating in Greene calling Boebert a “little bitch” on the House floor and getting kicked out of the Freedom Caucus for it.

Jordan and Comer backing a “whistleblower” who told them he had evidence that Hunter (and by extension Biden somehow) was involved in accepting bribes from Ukraine only to discover that not only was that not true, but the whistleblower is an unregistered foreign agent from the Chinese government, meaning the House GOP has (allegedly) been protecting and colluding with a spy to undermine the authority of the American president for months.

#this isn't even a comprehensive list #just the highlights

[mariacallous]

Russia’s crusaders for traditional values have found a new battle, and nudity of all kinds is at stake. The real headline-grabber was rapper Vacio (Nikolai Vasiliev), who wore nothing but socks on his feet and penis. Still, fellow celebrities Filipp Kirkorov, Lolita Milyavskaya, Ksenia Sobchak, and others gave Vacio a run for his money, wearing transparent bodysuits that teased nipples, navels, and buttcracks. 

This was the scene at Moscow’s “Mutabor” nightclub on Wednesday, December 20, where blogger and TV presenter Nastya Ivleeva hosted the “Almost Naked” party. A ticket for the evening reportedly cost a cool million rubles ($10,770). Before the bacchanalia was even done, footage from the event started appearing in tabloids and spreading rapidly across social media. 

As Internet users gawked and gossiped, there was immediate outrage from conservative activists and pundits, several of whom began lobbying for a police response. Representatives of radical traditionalist groups like “Sorok Sorokov,” “Call of the People,” and the “Federal Project for Security and Anti-Corruption” (FPBK) soon appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office and other law-enforcement agencies, calling the “Almost Naked” party an “immoral” celebration of the “dark arts” and asking the authorities to investigate its organizers for propagating drug culture and “the gay lifestyle.” 

Some have called for administrative charges, while others want a full-on criminal investigation. One of the recurring complaints is that Ivleeva’s festivities come at a time when Russia is busy invading Ukraine, ostensibly in defense of “traditional values” against the onslaught of Western decadence and progressivism. 

Ekaterina Mizulina, the head of the Safe Internet League, has campaigned aggressively to purge Russian popular culture of drug references and other unholy cravings. Her objections to “dangerous content” often lead to real consequences for the artists responsible, such as police charges against musician Oxxxymiron and the deportation of rapper Nekoglai. On December 21, Mizulina urged a boycott “at the state level” of the celebrities who attended the “Almost Naked” party. “Our soldiers at the front definitely aren’t fighting for this,” she said. “These raves are like firing a bullet into the foot of the entire policy implemented by the state.”

Other conservatives found the party’s supposed “LGBT” overtones most alarming. Maria Butina is a former gun rights activist who became a television propagandist and federal lawmaker after serving 14 months behind bars in the United States, where she pleaded guilty to felony charges of conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent of the Russian state. On Thursday, writing on official State Duma letterhead in her capacity as a deputy, Butina appealed to the Internal Affairs Ministry, the Cultural Ministry, and Russia’s media regulator, requesting inquiries into the “Almost Naked” party to see if it violated Russia’s ban on “LGBT propaganda” and a November 2022 presidential decree on preserving and strengthening “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.”

“Listen, they all have children. What kind of example are they setting for their children? All the truest LGBT people gathered there,” moaned FPBK director Vitaly Borodin. “What were they thinking? There’s a special military operation underway. Our society is at a loss.” Borodin also asked Internal Affairs Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and Moscow Chief of Police Oleg Baranov to dispatch officers to the “Mutabor” nightclub on December 21 to prevent a planned second night of festivities. 

When Thursday evening came, the police arrived at Mutabor ahead of most guests, but the authorities didn’t stick around. “Officers collected what materials they needed and left,” said the radio station Govorit Moskva. Round two of the party eventually rolled into action, this time open to the general public at an admission fee of just 2,500 rubles ($27). At the time of this writing, organizer Nastya Ivleeva was absent from the celebration. The Telegram channel Shot reported that the nightclub’s security guards were now asking guests to don additional clothing if their outfits revealed too much skin.

Hours earlier, on Thursday morning (apparently before realizing the scale of conservatives’ outrage and the involvement of law enforcement), Nastya Ivleeva taunted her critics on social media, writing (in a comment that’s since disappeared) that she loves getting hate for staging risque events: 

We look at the West and see these beautiful, slim models come out, and we say, “Damn, they’re so beautiful, they’re so cool.” And now our own beautiful, trim artists come out, and everyone’s like, “Fuck, look at this shit. Pop is dead.” God, I love it so much. May it never end.

[klbmsw]

[the-eternal-quest-for-balance]

Ron DeSantis just keeps getting sketchier by the minute. Unregistered Foreign Agents working in his Campaign. Actual Nazi's roaming the streets of Florida propped up and supported by the FBI and CIA. The more you learn the move you discover that Ron is just a shill trying for fame and glory. While in actuality he's a puppet and a clown, possibly even a cuck to Casey.