GOP Congressman Dana Rohrabacher at center of Trump-Russia conspiracy
Despite his constant claims of “NO COLLUSION” and his increase in Twitter rants apparently due to the mounting pressure of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Donald Trump is very much afraid of what will happen when his many connections to Russia and Vladamir Putin are made public. After claiming for years that he was close to Putin, Trump now says they had never met until after the inauguration. While Trump and most Republicans in Congress continue to distance themselves from Russia as much as possible, there is still one member in the House of Representatives who seems proud to have strong ties to Russia. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has held the seat in the 48th congressional district in California since winning the 1998 election.
Rohrabacher began his political career working in the Reagan Administration as an assistant press secretary and then a speech writer. He has long been a proponent of a pro-Russia agenda and relationship. In 2008, Rohrabacher attempted to argue that it was the nation of Georgia that initiated military fighting in the ongoing Russia-Georgia war. Then in 2014, he actually supported the idea of allowing Alaska to rejoin Russia, pending a majority vote of Alaskan voters. Based on his history of putting Russian interests above those of the United States, it’s not surprising to know that other Republican members of Congress speak openly of his friendship and possible illegal activities with Putin.
During a private GOP conversation during the 2016 presidential campaign, not knowing they were being recorded, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stated he believed there are only two people that Putin pays: Trump and Rohrabacher. When this information became public, McCarthy tried to play it off as a bad joke, but it certainly does not appear to have been a joke. Rohrabacher has repeatedly traveled to Russia and has even met with Julian Assange. He recently attempted to meet directly with Trump to brief him on his visit and discuss the possibility of allowing Assange to leave the Ecuador Embassy in London, where he’s been hiding since 2012, without any legal consequences.
Shortly after the 2016 election, while discussing the human rights violations going on in Russia, Rohrabacher called such claims “baloney.” As previously discussed, Mike Pence was chosen as VP directly by Kremlin puppet Paul Manafort. We also know that Trump, who ultimately chose Rex Tillerson – who was previously awarded the Russian Order of Friendship directly from Putin – for Secretary of State, considered selecting Rohrabacher for this position. The fact the Kremlin was considering Rohrabacher over Tillerson really shows how much its believed he would look out for its best interests.
It is abundantly clear that there are many individuals in the White House and Congress with illegal ties and improper relationships to Russia and Putin. Most of them are currently doing everything possible to destroy any evidence of those links, while strongly denouncing any supposed positives that could come out of a sturdy relationship with Russia. Donald Trump still claims from time to time that America might be better off with an improved relationship with Putin, yet continues to deny they previously met or that they conspired together to steal an election. Rohrabacher remains the only one to not attempt to hide his relationship with Putin and that is only one of the reasons the voters in California’s 48th district seem determined to vote him out this November.
I’m a ceramic engineer living in Central New York, avid sports fan but find myself more interested in politics lately.