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.
The Texas-based American Ethane company previously donated tens of thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Louisiana Republicans including Johnson, who was voted by the House to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy as Speaker on Wednesday following three weeks of GOP chaos in the lower chamber.
While American Ethane was run in 2018 by American John Houghtaling, 88 percent of the firm was owned by three Russian nationals—Konstantin Nikolaev, Mikhail Yuriev, and Andrey Kunatbaev.
So the problem is obviously American politics. But I think it’s entirely possible for a politician to be influenced by Russians without being a Russian plant. I think there’s a level of insulation between the politician and their “donors.” If there’s any kind of overt link, that’s bad. But if he can say hey, I just cash the checks, he isn’t technically doing anything wrong. Legally. Ethically? Piece of shit. But we’re talking American politics.