Rohrabacher dined with Butina in a ritzy French restaurant (in the US) -- part of Butina's plan to

[MelissaB]

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Two years after meeting with alleged Russian agent Maria Butina & Alexander Torshin in Russia, Dana Rohrabacher dined with Butina in a ritzy French restaurant (in the US) — part of Butina's plan to arrange "dialogue dinners" with influential Americans.

From Russia to Bistro Bis: The Calif. congressman who dined with alleged Russian agent

When FBI counterintelligence agents plowed through the emails of alleged Russian agent Maria Butina’s networking around Washington, they discovered her plan to arrange “friendship and dialogue dinners" with influential Americans.

At one dinner, ABC News has learned, in February 2017 at the tony French eaterie, Bistro Bis, one guest who dined with the then-28 year old Russian was a California Republican congressman on the House Foreign Relations committee, Dana Rohrabacher. Rohrabacher’s office confirmed he attended.

It wasn’t their first meeting.

Two years earlier, Butina had helped arrange a meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia that included Rohrabacher and her mentor, Kremlin-connected banker Alexander Torshin, federal officials have confirmed.

More: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/russia-bistro-bis-calif-congressman-dined-accused-russian/story?id=56839486

[MelissaB]

1. More on Rohrabacher

To Rohrabacher’s critics, these repeated interactions with a woman now jailed on suspicion of mounting an influence campaign at the behest of the Russian government, have added more fuel to longstanding questions about his Kremlin connections. This past weekend, anti-Putin crusader and businessman Bill Browder told a room of national security experts gathered in Aspen that he believes Rohrabacher is “on the payroll of Russia.”

“I believe he is under some type of influence by the Russian government,” Browder said.

... snip

In January 2017, Rohrabacher hosted an inaugural ball at the Library of Congress that attracted several Russian figures whose names have since surfaced during the investigation of election interference by special counsel Robert Mueller. The event was organized by his close aides, and tickets bought by guests were counted as campaign donations.

... snip

Among the guests were two of the participants in the now-infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting hosted by Donald Trump Jr., where the president’s son had expected to receive “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya were both in photographs of the event later uploaded on the website for the congressman’s ball.

[MelissaB]

2. Related articl & discussion

here.

[MelissaB]

3. This article has too much in it to pull out every important thing. n/t

[gratuitous]

4. Kevin McCarthy did say that Rohrabacher was on Putin's payroll

But it was just a joke. Really. Kidding around. You know, for a laugh. Nothing to it. Why are you bringing this up now?

[malaise]

6. ROFL

He even has a billboard.

[MelissaB]

7. Eh, I just want to see Paul Ryan hauled before the FBI for not reporting it

and keeping it quiet.

[magicarpet]

5. Did Butina sleep with rubish-ererer ? EEEWWWwww !

[MelissaB]

9. She must have done a heck of a number on him the way he defends her.

Just sayin'.

[GulfCoast66]

8. Did he have the special dessert?

[Little Star]

10. Did Butina meet with any female politicians or only males? n/t