Many of us have wondered why Trump started his campaign for president by attacking Senator John McCain.
It seemed illogical. McCain was a Republican. A former presidential candidate. Someone who had done a lot to thwart Obama’s agenda. Known as a war hero — and whether or not you agree with how well he served his country, there’s no question that he did serve his country.
McCain had picked Sarah Palin, and as one could expect Palin supporters to morph into Trump supporters, why alienate them?
But we learn now (OK, for some of us we are learning now; others were aware of this for years) that McCain was one of the Senators on the Magnitsky Act. That Act is something Putin hates, because it shines a bright light on and punishes his corruption.
Here’s the statement from senators McCain and Cardin: (I am reproducing it in full because I think that they want it produced everywhere).
“Recent news reports have shone a light on the Sergei Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian attorney working on behalf of his clients nearly a decade ago when he uncovered deep-seated corruption, and as any good lawyer would do, he reported his findings to Russian authorities. For doing his job, he was summarily arrested, jailed, tortured and killed. In his name, we wrote legislation to hold accountable those Russian authorities directly and indirectly responsible for his death by freezing their assets, denying them access to American financial institutions and preventing them from traveling to the United States. The law also enables similar sanctions on those who engage in gross human rights violations in Russia, where unfortunately, the abuses and due process breaches seen in Sergei’s case are widespread. The law serves as a deterrent for would-be perpetrators of abuses in Russia, and demonstrates a meaningful step we can take as American lawmakers who believe in advancing the rule of law and core human freedoms the world over. We were thrilled when our colleagues joined us last year in advancing the same standards at the global level via the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017.
“These laws are an American gold standard, and other countries around the world have passed or are pursuing similar legislation. We appreciate that the Trump Administration has so far signaled it will continue to enforce both laws, and we look forward to working with them on robust implementation of this powerful foreign policy tool.”
The case of Sergei Magnitsky symbolizes the rampant and often violent corruption plaguing the Russian state. Sergei, a 37-year-old tax lawyer, husband and father working for an American firm in Moscow, blew the whistle on the largest known tax fraud in Russian history. For that he was arrested in 2008 by those he accused, and he was imprisoned under torturous conditions for nearly a year. He was denied medical care and beaten by prison guards; he died alone in November 2009 in an isolation cell as doctors waited outside his door. These facts are accepted at the highest levels of Russia’s government, yet those implicated in his death remain unpunished by the Russian government and still hold positions of authority. In a mockery of the rule of law, Magnitsky was tried and convicted posthumously, and the Kremlin continues to advance propaganda to discredit and lie about his life and work.
So now we know why Trump was attacking McCain from day one of his campaign. Probably instructed to so by Putin — directly or indirectly.
Do I know that Putin called for this for sure? No, I don’t. But it’s more smoke from the Russian-Trump fire. And although some commenters think these insults were natural for Trump anyway, I do not.
Looking forward to seeing more!
For more information:
Summary of Sergei Magnitsky Act legislation upon original introduction in 2010
Summary of Global Magnitsky Act upon passage in 2016
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Glad to make the rec list!