I googled “Mike Pence Russia -Trump” to turn up any connections between Pence and Russia before the Trump era. We all know Manafort and Pence talked regularly during the transition, but I wondered why Manafort pulled so hard for Pence to get on the ticket in the first place. Perhaps there were deeper connections that drove Manafort.
I found one interesting thing…
Mike Pence and Russian political parties on same client list
I found Congressman MIke Pence on the same Strategic Media Group Client list as two Russian political parties, along with other fun clients as GoPAC, Gingrich and Freedom Forum.
The Russian parties are Russia Now and Christian Democrat Coalition. With the help of some excellent taxpayer funded librarians, I have some details on the frustratingly vague references.
Russia Now is likely “Sovremennaia Rossiia” with this website and a blog. The Christian Democrats are “Rossiiskoe khristiansko-demokraticheskaia partiia,” with a website here. Neither party appears active. Both emphasize a strong military, family values, nationalism and the importance of religious values. A good fit for the GOP these days.
This is all I have right now. What we need are names behind these parties to build the network to connect the russians, the domestic clients and the consultant. SMG appears to be fishing from a small, cozy ideological pond that could also hold connections between Pence and Manafort via Russia.
Pence is a worldly person who may well have Manafort and Russian connections that pass uninvestigated due to assumptions about his midwestern origins and religiosity.
Pence was into foreign affairs before governorship
The media sees Pence through the lens of an aw-shucks Indiana governor who’s afraid of eating alone with women.
However, for most of his congressional career, he served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Cummins, the huge multinational engine corporation with a Russian presence, is headquartered in his former district. He has been to the international rodeo before.
No pass for Pence
Pence is a worldly person who may well have Manafort and Russian connections that pass uninvestigated due to assumptions about his midwestern origins and religiosity.
This is a thin but interesting indication of a Russian connection for Pence prior to Trump. And taking the client list in its entirely, there could be connections between many electeds and political organizations to Russian influence.
What I found could be spurious and even innocent. But I do not know and surely there are people reading this able to move research forward and find out what is going on.
FYI
Here is that client list from SMG…
- Republican Party of North Dakota
- Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania
- Republican Party of Vermont
- Republican Party of Florida
- California Republican Party
- Republican National Committee
- Nat'l Republican Congressional Committee
- Office of the Attorney General (Virginia)
- Christian Democrat Coalition (RUSSIA)
- Russia Now Party (RUSSIA)
- Freedom Foundation (Indiana)
- Woodrow Wilson Education Foundation (New Jersey)
- Americans for Tax Reform
- Governor Mark Schweiker (Pennsylvania)
- Lt. Governor James Cawley (Pennsylvania)
- National Mining Association
- GoPAC
- Propane Vehicle Council
- Coalition for Affordable & Reliable Energy (CARE)
- Pennsylvanians For Effective Government (PEG)
- ALEX & ANI (Rhode Island)
- Cong. Mike Pence (Indiana)
- Cong. Jim Greenwood (Pennsylvania)
- Cong. Robert Aderholt (Alabama)
- Cong. Mike Rogers (Alabama)
- Cong. Newt Gingrich (Georgia)
- Cong. Felix Grucci (New York)
- Cong. Bob Franks (New Jersey)
- Cong. Marge Roukema (New Jersey)
- Cong. Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania)
- Cong. Mike Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania)
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2017 · 5:27:46 PM +00:00 · Eric Hensal
Connect the dots?
Give a post a few days, and you always see something to add or clarify. This is what needs digging into.
1) Any connection between the Russian political parties listed to the current Trumpgate scandal and Manafort in particular. Who were the party leaders or which other political parties did these groups merge into and do they fit into what is currently known?
2) Any connection between the Russian political parties listed and Mike Pence, outside of this co-appearance on a web page? How could Mike Pence come to be known by these parties?
3) Any connection between other clients such as the Freedom Forum in Indiana and these Russian parties that also connect to Pence.
This is really a Linkedin of shame we are wading through. Who is connected to who by what degree.