U.S. releases ‘Putin list’ of Russian politicians, oligarchs

President Trump’s administration released a list of hundreds of Russian politicians and oligarchs who have “flourished” under the regime of President Vladimir Putin late Monday.

The 114 senior politicians and 96 oligarchs appeared on what is dubbed the “Putin list” following a demand by Congress that the U.S. punish Russia for interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The list was delivered shortly before midnight, the Congress-imposed deadline.

Those on the document include Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Mikhail Prokhorov — who challenged Putin in the 2012 election — and top officials in the FSB and GRU spy agencies.

The list also includes aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, a figure in the Russia investigation over his ties to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

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The Treasury Department said of the oligarchs, each is believed to have assets totaling $1 billion or more.

Surprising, the Trump administration announced that nobody will be punished — for now — under new sanctions over the election-meddling. Some U.S. lawmakers said Trump was giving a free pass to those on the list, fueling further questions about whether the president is too soft on Russia.

Being on the list doesn’t trigger any U.S. sanctions on the individuals, although many are already targeted under earlier sanctions.

The Trump administration had until Monday to issue the list under a law passed last year. After declining to answer questions about it throughout the day Monday, the Treasury Department released it with little fanfare 12 minutes before midnight.

Franz Klintsevich, the first deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s Defense and Security Committee, slammed the publication of the list.

“It actually includes practically all of the nation’s key figures,”Klintsevich said, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

He added: “I do not know what will follow in the wake of this list, but its very appearance has no precedents in global history. The United States has crudely violated all possible principles of international relations, making cooperation with Russia in various areas virtually impossible,”

Trump said Wednesday that he’s willing to testify in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and that his testimony could take place within two to three weeks. 

Earlier this month, Trump declined to commit to an interview with Mueller, claiming his testimony isn’t necessary for the Russia investigation he called a “Democrat hoax.” 

Contributing: The Associated Press

More: Putin’s inner circle: Treasury report on Kremlin-connected Russians due Monday

Related: The four people charged so far in Russia investigation

 

 

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