Show Notes
Is Russia going to invade Ukraine? If Vladimir Putin’s military buildup turns into an attack on Ukraine, what should the US do in response? Peter Schweizer and Eric Eggers explore this and other questions on today’s episode of The Drill Down.
President Joe Biden and his administration have pledged their support for Ukraine, but their actions show different priorities. By allowing the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline into Europe, sidelining valuable eastern NATO allies from the Democracy Summit, canceling a weapons package to Ukraine, and their tepid response to Russian cyberattacks on American systems, the Biden administration has failed to match its words and its deeds. Now, a report by the Associated Press indicates that the administration discussed pressuring Ukraine to cede authority over disputed regions to Russia.
As Peter points out, this is an old dispute. Russia has said that Ukraine has been a part of Russia for three hundred years. Ukraine, a free country since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, says no, it was only involuntarily connected with Russia. The US is talking as though we side with the Ukrainians, but the Biden administration is acting as if it sides with Vladimir Putin and the Russians.
As the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill recently wrote, “[T]he prospect that Washington might follow another nation’s lead, rather than play its customary leadership role, effectively meant Western force was off the table, and Ukraine would be on its own in a direct conflict with Russia. It undoubtedly was music to Putin’s ears, vindicating his expectation that the Afghanistan debacle showed the current flaccid state of American and Western willingness to use force to defend even critical security partners.”
On The Drill Down, we follow the money. That means looking at the commercial interests of people in and tied to the Biden administration.
During Donald Trump’s administration we were told he was soft on Putin. But Trump said no to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which the US could do because the project relies on US technology and we have a say over how that technology is used. But one of the first acts of the incoming Biden administration in January 2021 was to end US opposition to Nord Stream 2. Why is this important?
Because its predecessor, “Nord Stream 1,” supplies gas to Europe by running through Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 bypasses Ukraine, and therefore will remove any leverage that country had over Russian aggression. Biden lifted these restrictions, clearing the way for a direct pipeline from Russia into Europe.
Biden’s new Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, told Ukraine not to complain about it. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who had both opposed the project during the Trump administration, have since flipped position and now support Biden’s moves. Why?
This brings us to a little-known lobbyist named Vincent Roberti.
Chuck Schumer, as well as other Democrats, received campaign donations from Vincent Roberti. Roberti is the chairman and co-founder of the lobbying firm Roberti Global, which has been paid millions of dollars by Nord Stream 2 AG. Nord Stream 2 AG is a “wholly-owned by Russia’s state-run energy firm Gazprom. Alexei Miller, Gazprom’s executive chairman, is a longtime Putin ally, as is Nord Stream CEO Matthias Warnig.”
Roberti’s lobbying efforts include: “issues related to the U.S. position toward the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, including potential financial sanctions affecting the project.” In 2021, Roberti donated $11,600 to Schumer (half from under the “From Lobbyist” section and the other half under the “From Family Members” section, according to Open Secrets). Roberti also donated $11,600 to Pelosi in 2021. Pelosi also toasted to Roberti and his wife at their wedding in 2013.
Politico describes Roberti as a “[v]eteran Democratic power broker.” GQ Magazine named Mr. Roberti as one of the top five most influential power brokers in Washington, DC, writing ‘Roberti embodies the Hollywood ideal of a Washington power broker. You call [Vin] if your legislation is in trouble, or, really, your life is.’”
In Peter Schweizer’s 2013 book, Extortion, he revealed the basic business model of politicians in public service. In Secret Empires he documented how Hunter Biden’s connections to both Ukraine and Russia benefited him to the tune of several million dollars – about $4 million from Ukrainian gas company Burisma, and another $3.5mm from Elena Baturina, the wife of the former mayor of Moscow and a close ally of Putin.
As then-Senator John Breaux of Louisiana once said, “I’m not for sale but I am for rent.”
Then there is the case of Jake Sullivan and Victoria Nuland. Sullivan was a deputy to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Obama administration, worked on her 2016 presidential campaign, and while at the State Department helped sweep ethical issues surrounding a $500,000 paid speech given in Moscow by her husband, former president Bill Clinton, aside.
As Peter explains, during the 2016 campaign Sullivan was instrumental in spreading the contents of the so-called Steele Dossier, which alleged that Donald Trump was under the control of Russian intelligence, and which we know from Robert Mueller’s independent counsel report was completely false. Today, Jake Sullivan is today Biden’s national security adviser, and he supports the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Victoria Nuland was also at the State Department during the Obama administration, and also played a prominent role in spreading the Steele Dossier. Today, she is Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, and also has taken a soft position on Russia.
Peter says, “The Steele Dossier was not some college prank. We now know based on the independent counsel report that Igor Danchenko, who was one of the people behind the dossier and is now facing charges for making false statements to the FBI, is rumored to have long-standing ties to… Russian intelligence.”
The distrust of government that led to the January 6 riot at the US Capitol came from people who were distrustful of the government. But, when you look back five years ago, they were actively lied to by the sitting administration that spied and spread lies about their political opponent.
What will lead us back to having trust in government is holding officials accountable for these kinds of deceptions, and for engaging in practices that benefit their buddies and family members. Accountability is the path forward. The system works, but the leaders are the problem.”
