Kentucky’s motto of “Unbridled Spirit” has taken on a whole new meaning under the tutelage of Moscow Mitch, Rand Paul, and now Republican Congressman Andy Barr (KY-6th). Seems that Congressman Barr received $2,400 dollars in campaign contributions from Igor Misha Fruman, one of Rudy Giuliani’s Ukrainian associates.
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, who this week sharply criticized his House colleagues for their Ukraine-related impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, last year accepted campaign donations from one of the foreign nationals arrested Wednesday as part of the widening Ukrainian investigation.
Barr took $2,432 in re-election donations through a joint House Republican fundraising committee last year from Ukrainian-born businessman Igor Misha Fruman of Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., according to federal election records.
You all may remember that Fruman was trying to flee the country when he was arrested by the FBI and indicted on violating multiple campaign finance laws.
According to the Indictment[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:
Through its election laws, Congress prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions, donations, and certain expenditures in connection with federal, state, and local elections. The election laws also prohibit individuals from using straw donors to make legal contributions in their own names, rather than in the name of the true source of the funds. The purpose of these laws is to prevent the electoral system from illegal foreign influence, and to further inform candidates, their campaign committees, federal regulators and the public of the true sources of contributions. In or about 2018, the defendants violated these laws by, among other things, agreeing to facilitate foreign donations to federal and state candidates, and agreeing to make straw donations to federal candidates in an effort to conceal true sources of the funds.
And lo and behold, there is Kentucky’s Congressman Andy Barr with just such a donation.
Barr’s reaction to finding out that he took a donation from Fruman?
“Never heard of him,” said Barr spokeswoman Jodi Whitaker. “Congressman Barr has never heard of him, had never heard of him before this week.”
Now, Barr claims he is giving an equivalent amount of money to a charity to atone for his mistake.
When the Herald-Leader asked Barr’s office about the donations on Friday morning, a spokeswoman said Barr’s campaign would donate that sum to a local charity, Voices of Hope, that helps with addiction recovery.
Well, all’s well that ends well, except:
Barr has criticized the Democratic majority in the House for the way it has pursued the impeachment inquiry, saying there has been no “semblance of a fair or impartial process.”
“Neither the executive branch nor members of Congress should support this constitutionally defective, politicized and illegitimate process which, if unchanged, will do irreparable harm to the institutional reputation of Congress as a co-equal branch of government,” Barr said in his statement on Wednesday.
I wonder how many other Republicans got donations from Parnas and Fruman? Hmmmmmm.