The Republican running for Montana's lone congressional seat has—believe it or not—an ISIS problem, like so many millionaires must. How can they know where all their millions are going? In this case, to a company that has done business with the world's uber-terror group.
Greg Gianforte, the millionaire GOP contender for Montana’s open seat in the House, reported owning $47,066 worth of shares in LaFargeHolcim as recently as December in an individual retirement account at TWP, a brokerage firm and private wealth manager. He and his wife, Susan Gianforte, are listed as trustees on the account.
LaFargeHolcim operated a factory in the north Syrian town of Kobane for three years after civil war broke out and most foreign companies fled. The company evacuated foreign employees in 2012, but kept the business going with local workers until ISIS fighters seized the factory two years later. Payments made to local armed groups to secure the factory may have unwittingly ended up in ISIS coffers, the French newspaper Le Monde reported last year. CEO Eric Olsen resigned from the firm last month.
Gianforte's LaFargeHolcim holdings, by the way, are close to the median household income in Montana, just for some perspective on how multifaceted this problem could be for the Republicans. If this rings any political bells for you at all, it might be because "Republicans attacked 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for accepting a donation from the company to the Clinton Foundation worth between $50,000 and $100,000." They have no comment on Gianforte's investment. They do like the fact, though, that the guy has enough money to loan his own campaign $1 million, which he just did.
They also have no comment with the fact that he "invested about $250,000 in index funds with holdings in Gazprom and Rosneft, oil and gas firms sanctioned by the U.S. after the Russian invasion of Crimea." Cozying up to Russia is the new bar Republicans must meet, apparently. He fits right in, which is precisely why he has to be kept out of Congress.
The election is May 25. Can you help Rob Quist flip this seat to the Democrats with your $3?