Both Senator Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley voted to lift sanctions against three Russian companies linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Why did Iowa’s senators vote to assist Deripaska, once Russia’s wealthiest man with an estimated worth of $28 billon?

Critics describe Deripaska as a thug with direct links to Russian organized crime. In the 1990s he was one of the Russian billionaires that competed in a vicious battle to take over the state owned assets of the failed Soviet Union. Allegedly, a former manager of a Russian metal smelter that Deripaska seized was told to transfer a majority share or, “this is the last time you will leave here alive.”

Deripaska also has a direct link to Mueller’s Russian investigation. Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, was a lobbyist for Diripaska.

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The question remains, why did Senators Ernst and Grassley vote to end sanctions on Deripaska and ignore the advice of both Democrats and their Republican colleagues? Were they fooled by Mnuchin? Were they ignorant of Deripaska’s link to Russian organized crime and involvement in Putin’s attack on American elections? They must answer for their votes.

https://iowastartingline.com/2019/01/25/grassley-and-ernst-let-russian-gangster-off-the-hook/