Russian oligarch Andrey Muraviev was indicted in 2022 for an illegal campaign contribution scheme where money was funneled through associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman to a Trump super PAC and other politicians to seek cannabis business licenses. In April 2024, reporting noted that a Texas-based firm donated to House Speaker Mike Johnson and that firm was 88% owned by three Russians. Russian Disinformation: Senator Johnson's investigation into Hunter Biden was criticized by Democrats and some former intelligence officials for using information that originated from individuals linked to Russian intelligence and disinformation efforts, even after an FBI briefing warning him of this possibility. Policy Positions: Johnson has faced scrutiny for a 2018 trip to Russia and for questioning U.S. sanctions against Russia, which critics claimed played into Russian interests, though he maintained he was consistent on being tough on targeted sanctions to oligarchs. Anyone who follows campaign finance knows that the FEC has been toothless for years due to GOP commissioners’ opposition to any enforcement of laws designed to oversee money in politics. But Weintraub and Broussard suggest the agency hit a new low by letting the US firm, American Ethane, off with a deal in which it agreed to pay only a small civil fine. Though based in Houston, Texas, and run by American CEO John Houghtaling, 88 percent of American Ethane was owned by three Russian nationals—Konstantin Nikolaev, Mikhail Yuriev, and Andrey Kunatbaev. The FEC report said that Nikolaev, an oligarch and Russian billionaire with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is the controlling shareholder. Separately, Nikolaev also underwrote efforts by Maria Butina, a Russian gun rights activist, to cultivate ties with National Rifle Association officials and with associates of Donald Trump around the time of the 2016 election. In 2018, Butina acknowledged acting as an unregistered Kremlin agent and pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy against the United States. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison but was deported six months later. According to lobbying disclosures, the company was seeking help from US officials in its efforts to sell US ethane to China. In 2018 it hired a US lobbying firm, Turnberry Solutions, with close ties to former Trump campaign chief Corey Lewandowski. A year later, Lewandowki officially joined Turnberry, after previously disputing his connections to the firm. Turnberry, which traded on ties to Trump, shut down in 2021, months after he left office. The FEC investigation began after it received a complaint citing press reports on American Ethane’s ties to Nikolaev and its donations to lawmakers. Weintraub and Broussard noted that the FEC found that American Ethane “made contributions using funds derived from loans from foreign entities ultimately owned by Russian nationals.” Federal law bans foreign funds in US elections, as well as direct corporate donations to candidates. American Ethane seems to have done both. The FEC found that the company made more than $66,000 in donations using money it got from offshore firms in the form of loans. According to an FEC general counsel’s report released last year, the owners of the offshore firms included Alexander Voloshin, a Russian politician and former state power company official, and Roman Abramovich, an infamous Russian oligarch and former owner of the British football powerhouse Chelsea. The money the company used to dole out donations ultimately came from the oligarchs, the FEC said2016, a PAC supporting Lindsey Graham received $800,000 in campaign donations from an American holding company tied to Ukrainian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik, who has business ties to Russian oligarchs. Key details about the donation: Donor: The money came from holding companies owned by Len Blavatnik, a U.S. and U.K. dual citizen. He is a major political donor to both Republican and Democratic candidates and charitable causes. Connections: Blavatnik has a business partnership with Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin. They own a stake in Rusal, a Russian aluminum company. Amount: The PAC supporting Graham received $800,000 in the 2015-2016 election cycle. Legality: The donations were made through U.S. companies and were considered legal under U.S. campaign finance laws, though some critics questioned the ethics and judgment involved. the years since these donations, Senator Graham has been a vocal proponent of strong action against Russia, including introducing bipartisan legislation to seize and transfer sanctioned Russian oligarch assets to aid Ukraine. His campaign email account was also hacked by Russians in 2016. Beloud