It hasn’t even been a week since Special Counsel Mueller concluded his probe into Russian collusion of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and even less time since Attorney General Bill Barr released his highly partisan 4-page summary of the report. But nevertheless, President Trump is already welcoming “prominent” Russians into the White House.
The 2018 Stanley Cup Champions, The Washington Capitals, were honored at the White House. While many members of the team refused the invitation based on their morals and values, some players still attended — one of which was Alex Ovechkin, whose ties to Vladimir Putin have been heavily questioned.
The Washington Post reported, “Alex Ovechkin, the team’s Russian captain, and the National Hockey League’s most valuable player, is also a vocal admirer and personal friend of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.” The report continued, “Mr. Ovechkin had said he is an apolitical sports star. But questions about his connections to Mr. Putin, and whether he is a participant, knowingly or unknowingly, in a Kremlin propaganda machine, have swirled around his career. They peaked when Mr. Ovechkin announced last year the creation of a ‘civic movement’ that he branded online as #putinteam, ahead of Russia’s elections.”
According to the Times, Ovechkin actually has a personal relationship with Putin.
“Mr. Ovechkin, who received a wedding gift from Mr. Putin and reportedly has his personal phone number, insisted that the hashtag and the campaign were simply his own project, involving no input or signoff from Mr. Putin’s government. There were questions, however, about whether a public relations firm with Kremlin connections was involved,” the report stated.
The report also stated that despite the perplexity of the gathering, “great pressure” has been relieved from Trump’s shoulders since the release of Barr’s summary.
Evidently, now that Trump’s hand-picked Attorney General has puked out a compromised and drastically influenced excuse for a summary, the Russians can come back out to play in broad daylight — welcomed with open arms, straight into the White House.
Featured image via DC Tribune galleryÂ
