Indicted Ukrainian Oligarch Paid $1 Million to Giuliani Pal, Prosecutors Say
Lev Parnas arrives at Federal Court on December 17, 2019 in New York City.Stephanie Keith/Getty Images Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash paid $1 million to Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, federal prosecutors said in a court hearing Tuesday in Manhattan. Firtash, a natural gas mogul with Kremlin connections, lives in Vienna and is…
In Another Break From Norms, Trump Is Using the White House as a Campaign Backdrop
Mother Jones illustration; Getty On a Friday evening in early October, more than 200 young African American conservatives in dark suits and red MAGA hats marched across Lafayette Square chanting, “USA! USA!” Their destination: The White House, where President Donald Trump was the featured guest at a reception for the pro-Trump student group Turning Point…
A Major Trump Inaugural Donor Was Just Charged for an Illegal Foreign Influence Campaign
Pat Benic/CNP via ZUMA Wire A California businessman who gave $900,000 to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee has agreed to plead guilty to a veritable foreign lobbying crime spree. Over the better part of a decade, Imaad Zuberi solicited money from foreign people and firms to donate to US political campaigns and he promised to…
Who’s the Secret Russian in the Indictment of Giuliani’s Pals? We Found Some Clues.
Booking photos of Lev Parnas, left, and Igor Fruman./AP When the US attorney for the Southern District of New York charged two associates of Rudy Giuliani and two other men on Wednesday with campaign finance violations, the indictment contained a big mystery. Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman—who had been helping Giuliani search for dirt on…
The Federal Election Commission Is About to Partially Shut Down
AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley For years, the Federal Election Commission has been barely functional. But at the end of this month—as the 2020 campaign heats up and unprecedented amounts of money flow to candidates for national office—much of the agency’s work will shut down entirely. There will be no new fundraising rules, no punishments for…
Tom Steyer Wants You to Want Him to Be President
Jacob Rosenberg Tom Steyer—hedge fund billionaire, Democratic megadonor, and newly self-proclaimed presidential candidate—is prepared for the question. He’s only 10 days into his campaign, but he knows to expect it. Often, it’s the first question; sometimes it’s a single word. Why? In January, Steyer said he wasn’t running, but now he is, and so are 20-plus other Democrats. There’s the…