Ah yes, Rosneft. Want to know another peculiar connection that seems quite inconceivable? Rex Tillerson.
Here's more information on Secretary of State Tillerson who has been put in charge of implementing new Russian sanctions;
Rosneft is run by one of Putin's closest allies, Sechin. One of Sechin's right hand men and Russian intelligence officer Erovinkin, who may have been a source for the Steele Dossier, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the back of a car.[1] Tillerson was the head of Exxon when President Obama foiled a multi-billion dollar deal between Exxon Mobil and Rosneft thanks to the implementation of sanctions against Russia. Exxon has once again applied for a waiver.[2] Tillerson has a sinister history, a few examples being his use of coded email accounts to hide his business dealings,[3] and the fact that he was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship award.[4]
Tillerson has completely gutted a formerly functioning State Department, essentially crippling US influence abroad.[5]
he has already frozen hiring, reduced promotions, asked some senior employees to perform clerical duties that are normally relegated to lower-level staff members, refused to fill many ambassadorships and senior leadership jobs, and fired top diplomats from coveted posts while offering low-level assignments in their place. Those efforts have crippled morale worldwide.
The number of those carrying the department’s top two ranks — equivalent to four- and three-star generals — has dropped almost in half, from 39 to 21. And nearly 20 percent of those with two-star-equivalent ranks have signaled their intention to leave in what is an unprecedented exodus, according to an accounting provided by the American Foreign Service Association.
He has systematically dismantled the State Department with major cuts to leadership roles, these are career diplomats who have served under different administrations and possess unparalleled experience.[6] I cannot stress enough how important soft power is in terms of maintaining a US sphere of influence.[7]
Here is another example of the degradation of the State Department being displayed by the current administration. The US Embassy in Moscow hired Putin's former KGB boss for security in Russia, awarding his company with a $2.8 million contract.[8]
Before his work in foreign intelligence Mr Budanov was the director of the KGB's counter-intelligence division, he has told Russian media.
He also was head of the KGB branch in East Germany in the late 1980s, where a young Mr Putin served under him. In a 2007 interview, Mr Budanov lamented the collapse of the USSR, praised Mr Putin's leadership and warned that Russia “can't constantly act as (the Americans) want” or it would be destroyed.
Browder's Senate Judicial Committee testimony[9] clarified reasons as to why the Russians would want to collude with Trump. He confirmed our suspicions as to why Putin was closely tied to the Trump campaign, to negate Russian sanctions and in particular the Magnitsky Act as it has the ability to cripple Putin's authoritarian structure of ruling. You can watch his testimony on CSPAN,[10] he paints an incredible picture of how the Russian government operates.
Russian sanctions, and in particular the Magnitsky Act, provides us with a motive.[11] President Trump signed an Executive Order[12] dictating that Tillerson and Mnuchin would be in charge of implementing the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act[13] - an expansion of The Magnitsky Act of 2012.[14] These new sanctions against Russians that were passed by both houses of congress almost unanimously should be looked at closely as another deadline approaches later this month. By the 29th of this month the administration must present a new list of enterprises that have continued to do business with sanctioned Russian entities.[15]
Haaretz - Report: Death of Former Russian Spy Chief Linked to Dossier on Trump Ex-KGB general Oleg Erovinkin was found dead in his car in Moscow last month. He was a close associate of a former senior Kremlin official mentioned repeatedly in dossier.
New York Times - Exxon Mobil Seeks U.S. Sanctions Waiver for Oil Project in Russia
TIME - Rex Tillerson Used an Email Alias at Exxon to Discuss Climate Change, Says New York AG
CNN - Behind the deep ties between Exxon's Rex Tillerson and Russia
New York Times - State Department to Offer Buyouts in Effort to Cut Staff
BBC - US diplomacy cuts 'decapitates' State Department leadership
Foreign Policy - Think Again: Soft Power
The Daily Beast - U.S. Embassy Hires Security Firm of Former Putin Spy
The Atlantic - Bill Browder's Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee
CSPAN Testimony - William Browder Overturning Magnitsky Act Putin's Top Priority
The Atlantantic - Why Does the Kremlin Care So Much About the Magnitsky Act?
The White House - Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury
S.284 - Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act
H.R.6156 - Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012
CNN - Latest US sanctions against Russia a work in progress
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