CD284: Thieving Russia

While the world is distracted, members of Congress are writing bills designed to steal Russia's money and give it to Ukraine. In this episode, listen to the pitch being made to Congress as we examine if this is a good idea. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! View the show notes on our website at congressionaldish.com/cd284-thieving-russia Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD276: The Demise of Dollar Dominance CD244: Keeping Ukraine Taking the Russian money: is it legal? U.S. Code Title 50, Chapter 35, Section 1702 "Once More on the REPO Act." Lee C. Buchheit and Paul Stephan. October 20, 2023. Lawfare. "Yellen Endorses Windfall Tax on Frozen Russian Assets" Chelsey Dulaney and Andrew Duehren. October 11, 2023. The Wall Street Journal. "The Other Counteroffensive to Save Ukraine." Lawrence H. Summers, Philip Zelikow, and Robert B. Zoellick. June 15, 2023. Foreign Affairs. "Giving Russian Assets to Ukraine—Freezing Is Not Seizing." Paul Stephan. April 26, 2022. Lawfare. "$100 Billion. Russia's Treasure in the U.S. Should Be Turned Against Putin." Laurence H. Tribe and Jeremy Lewin. April 15, 2022. The New York Times. "Executive Order on Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation." April 15, 2021. President Joe Biden. White House Briefing Room. What we're being told about Ukraine "To date, Ukraine has reclaimed more than half the territory Russia seized since 2022. Arms and equipment announced today as part of continued U.S. assistance will help sustain Ukraine's battlefield needs." Secretary of State Anthony Blinken [@SecBlinken]. November 3, 2023. Twitter. "Ukraine in maps: Tracking the war with Russia" Visual Journalism Team. September 29, 2023. BBC News. "Mapping Ukraine's counteroffensive." June 2023. Reuters. Israel-Hamas War "Gaza's hospitals report growing threats from Israeli airstrikes ." Jaclyn Diaz and Aya Batrawy. November 7, 2023. NPR. "Biden Wants Arms Deals With Israel to Be Done in Complete Secrecy." Sharon Zhang. November 2, 2023. Bills H.R. 6126: Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate H.R. 4175: REPO for Ukrainians Act Audio Sources A Review of the National Security Supplemental Request October 31, 2023 Senate Appropriations Committee Watch on C-SPAN Witnesses: Antony Blinken, Secretary, U.S. Department of State Lloyd Austin, Secretary, U.S. Department of Defense Clips 1:05:05 Secretary of State Antony Blinken: If you look at total assistance to Ukraine going back to February of 2022, the United States has provided about $75 billion our allies and partners $90 billion. If you look at budget support, the United States has provided about $22 billion during that period, allies and partners $49 billion during that period; military support, we provided about $43 billion allies and partners $33 billion; humanitarian assistance, the United States $2.3 billion allies and partners 4.5 billion, plus another $18 to $20 billion in caring for the many refugees who went to Europe and outside of Ukraine. Israel and Ukraine Against Terror October 19, 2023 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (The Helsinki Commission) Watch on YouTube Witnesses: Eliav Benjamin, Deputy Head of Mission, The Embassy of Israel to the United States Jamil N. Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director, National Security Institute at George Mason University Dr. Jonathan Schanzer, Senior Vice President, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Dr. Dan Twining, President, International Republican Institute Oksana Markarova, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States of America Clips 19:25 Eliav Benjamin: Understanding in the most unequivocal manner and in the clearest way that these are evil people. If we can even call them people. This is Israel's 9/11, only if you take the proportion of the size of Israel, this is 9/11 times 10, at least. 20:45 Eliav Benjamin: Because these terrorist organizations are not only against Israelis or against Jews, and not only in Israel, they are against mankind and anything which calls for decency, any entity and anybody who calls for protecting human rights and protecting individuals and protecting civilians. 21:25 Eliav Benjamin: Hamas have no value for human life, while Israel is doing its utmost to protect human life, including Palestinians in Gaza by even calling for them to go down south so that they won't be affected by the war. Hamas is doing everything in its power to harm civilians, to harm its own civilians. And everything that Hamas is committing -- and committed -- is no less than war crimes. And if you want crimes against humanity, and this is while Israel is working within the international human rights law, and within the military law. 28:15 Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN): Ambassador we have attempted to get some monies to from Putin and from the Soviet Un -- the oligarchs, to help rebuild Ukraine. Do you have any new information about that, or concerns? Oksana Markarova: Thank you for this question. First of all, I think it's very just that all this horrible destruction, which only for the first year of the war the World Bank estimated at $411 billion -- just the physical destruction -- has to be compensated and paid for by the Russians. So with regard to the Russian oligarchs and everyone who finances this war, supports this war, thanks to Congress we already have the possibility to confiscate it through the courts and DOJ has already moved forward with one confiscation of malfeasance money -- $5.4 million, and others. It is going to take time. But I think the major question right now to discuss with all the G7 is the Russian sovereign assets. We know that there are at least in the vicinity of 300-400 billion, or maybe even more, frozen by G7 countries. Not only that, but we recently discovered there are about $200 billion that are frozen in the Euroclear system in Belgium. So I'm very glad that there are more renewed talks right now between the G7 Ministers of Finance on how to confiscate and how to better use this money even now. I think we have to join forces there because again, we're very grateful for the American support, we are very much counting on this additional supplementary budget, but at the end of the day, it's not the American, or Ukrainian, or European taxpayers who have to pay for this, it is the Russians who have to pay for their damages. We look forward to working with Congress and we're working very actively with the administration, the State Department and Treasury, on how to better do it. As the former Minister of Finance, I not only believe -- I know -- that it can be done and I know this is a very specific case, that will not jeopardize the untouchability of the Sovereign Money, which is normal in the normal circumstances. This is a very specific case of a country that has been condemned by 154 countries in the UN for the illegal aggression. We have in all three major cases, the cases against Russia on both aggression and genocide and everything else. And it's only natural and just to use the sovereign assets as well as the private assets of Putin's oligarchs to compensate and to pay this. 32:50 Eliav Benjamin: Look at the charter of Hamas, which calls for destruction, annihilation of Jews, of Israel and yes, wants to control everything from the Mediterranean Sea until the Jordan River. 33:00 Eliav Benjamin: That is their aspiration, …