Someone at the table with Putin, someone at the table you know oh oh oh

Mark Sumner

Daily Kos Staff

Tuesday April 18, 2017 · 12:25 PM PDT

2017/04/18 · 12:25

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 23: Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein answers questions during a press conference at the National Press Club August 23, 2016 in Washington, DC. Stein discussed her candidacy and her attempts to be included in the presidential debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates during her remarks. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) — Jill Stein

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It’s not exactly breaking news, but NBC has assembled a nicely annotated article on that dinner that Michael Flynn and Vladimir Putin shared in 2015.

It was a (red) star-studded affair, the December 2015 dinner celebrating the 10th birthday of Russian TV network RT. At a luxe Moscow hotel, President Vladimir Putin and a host of Russian luminaries toasted a state-backed news channel that U.S. intelligence calls a Kremlin mouthpiece.

And next to Putin at the head table, in the seat of honor, was an American. Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who would later become Donald Trump's national security adviser, was already advising Trump's presidential campaign when he was paid $45,000 to speak at the gala.

Flynn’s companions for the night included Putin, Putin’s spokesman, Putin’s chief of staff, Putin’s deputy chief of staff, and just about anyone else whose description starts with “Putin’s.” Also on hand were were a pro-Putin film director, a model from the Russian version of Playboy, and a Russian TV host …

… who said that a massive meteor strike that injured nearly 1,500 people in 2013 was God's vengeance on Russia's gay rights movement.

But there was also one familiar face at the Putin/Flynn table.

… two-time U.S. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, the only American besides Flynn at the head table.

It’s worth going to the article to view the groupings and to get a sense of the evening’s character.

Stein’s presence at the dinner wasn’t a secret, though she’s not exactly been thrilled to talk about that enchanted evening.

Stein's 2016 campaign was heavily promoted by RT. She hasn't spoken much about the RT dinner, but in an interview with NBC News last fall, she deflected questions about her appearance, instead chastising the U.S. media for not paying attention to her campaign while RT gave it a lot more attention.

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Michael Flynn was given a spot at the top table because of his association with Trump. For the same reason he was feted by Russian state media outlet RT—which Putin took time to praise in his speech. Stein was there for the same reason. To meet Putin. To get some attention from RT. To get some ego massage and some messaging for the folks back home.

That’s not to suggest that Stein was a Russian agent, or part of any vast conspiracy theory. But Jill Stein was a part of Russia’s plan for the election. They gave her what the US media had denied—attention and flattery. In return she praised RT and chastised the American media. Both sides got just what they wanted.

(Stein did well enough to help Russia achieve its aims. Her vote totals in the crucial states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan were all greater than Clinton's margin of defeat, and arguably denied Clinton an Electoral College victory.)

Flynn and Stein were there because they were both tools. In several senses of that word.

And there was one other special guest not featured in the pictures:

Unable to attend in person was WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who formerly hosted his own show on RT. Instead, he appeared via satellite as host of one of the 10th anniversary event's seminars, where he lamented the end of privacy.

Tools all around.

Someone at the table with Putin, someone at the table you know oh oh oh

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