Close ally of Vladimir Putin is attending Donald Trump’s inauguration

| 4:32 pm EST January 19, 2017
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For all of Donald Trump’s vociferous denials that none of the accusations involving him and Russia are true, he sure has an odd way of showing it. Trump is now fending off evidence that the Russian government rigged the election on his behalf, that Russia funded his campaign, and that Russia is holding blackmail tapes of him with prostitutes, among other things. So how is Trump handling the Russia controversy during inauguration week? By inviting a close ally of Vladimir Putin to the inauguration.

Russian industrialist billionaire Roman Abramovich is a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Abramovich will not be attending Donald Trump’s inauguration, so far as we know. But Abramovich’s wife Dasha Zhukova will be attending, according to Jake Sherman from Politico. He also reports that Zhukova is a friend of Ivanka Trump. And while that may explain why she’s attending, it only makes things worse from a perception standpoint: it means the Trump family is personal friends with Putin’s closest allies. And it’s not the first time Ivanka’s connections to Putin have come to light.

Back in August, Ivanka Trump was spotted on vacation with Wendi Deng, who is believed to be Putin’s mistress. And Donald Trump wonders why so many Americans think he’s a Russian spy.