In his latest piece in The Observer, John R. Schindler exposes the support of our new ambassador to Germany, Ric Grennell, for this man…
...Vladimir Plahotniuc, “ the most powerful political player in Moldova, not to mention the country’s wealthiest oligarch” whom, it is reported by the Romanian Daily Evz.ro (needs to be translated), is suspected by Interpol of being involved with The Russian Mafia in the smuggling of “dancers” from Moldova, a poor former Russian Republic tucked between Romania and Ukraine, to wealthy supporters of the choreographic arts throughout the world.
”About the dubious affairs of Vladimir Plahotniuc, the press in Chisinau wrote that they began, in the early 1990s, with the "export" of dancers abroad, in fact a shelter for luxury prostitution, through a travel agency. Also, between 1998 and 2001, the oligarch would have coordinated the companies involved in the distribution and marketing of cigarettesTobacco - CTC, then one of the most profitable businesses. At the same time, the Romanian authorities identified numerous networks of cigarette smugglers from the Republic of Moldova, involving a certain Vlad Ulinici, in fact the second name of Vladimir Plahotniuc.”
Schindler begins his piece highlighting drumpf’s difficulties (or disinterest) in filling top diplomatic posts, including the slow confirmation of Grennell, whose qualifications include his appearances on Fox News, a stint as spokesman for the U.N. Ambassador in the Bush 43 administration and his early support for the two biggest f*** ups of the century — the Iraq war and the candidacy of Donald J. Trump.
He then chronicles the first action of Grennell’s residency as ambassador, commanding that Germany stop doing business with Iran, which brought this reply from Wolfgang Ischinger, who served as Germany’s ambassador in Washington for five years on Twitter:
Schindler than proceeds to the meat of his article, Grenell’s links to Plahotniuc:
The problem with Ric Grenell is greater than his lack of manners or understanding of how diplomacy is conducted. His bread and butter for years has been serving as a political consultant and advisor. He founded Capital Media Partners in 2009, which has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C, to assist clients with “international strategic communications.” Grenell boasts of having “clients based in the U.S. as well as Iran, Kazakhstan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, China, Australia, Timor-Leste, and throughout Europe.” These days, when close associates of Trump such as Paul Manafort and Mike Flynn have gotten into legal trouble by failing to file with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as FARA, it’s valid to ask whether Grenell complied with the law here.
Moreover, what does “throughout Europe” mean? Here we need to discuss Moldova, a benighted little country that few Americans ever think about, yet which became a subject of brief, intense interest to Grenell shortly before our 2016 election. The poorest corner of Europe, where the average salary is not much more than $200 monthly, Moldova barely has any legitimate economy, and the former Soviet republic is a watchword for hopelessness. The country is known for its out-of-control corruption and crime, particularly its lurid role in the illegal trade of sex slaves. Moldova’s main industry is the selling of its young women, often children, to human traffickers, who dispatch them around the globe to be exploited.
Grenell, who does not seem to have shown any interest in that troubled country before or since, oddly published four American op-eds between mid-August and mid-October 2016, extolling Moldova’s virtues. According to Grenell, brave little Moldova was standing up to illegal Russian influence—a strange take, given the author’s general tendency to rudely blow off accusations of Kremlin malfeasance when they involve President Trump. To anyone versed in Moldova’s nasty and obscure politics—not a large group in America—Grenell was going to bat for Vladimir Plahotniuc, the most powerful political player in Moldova, not to mention the country’s wealthiest oligarch. (snip)
This is an important matter since Plahotniuc isn’t just a corrupt oligarch who stands plausibly accused of robbing his impoverished country blind. He’s also a human trafficker, in fact the leading one in Moldova. INTERPOL admitted his role in human trafficking in 2012, based on an Italian request. Although Plahotniuc has never been charged with this crime, this isn’t surprising given the influence he possesses over Moldova’s highly corrupt judiciary. Sergiu Mocanu, one of the few Moldovan politicians brave enough to speak out, stated, “Plahotniuc was involved in human trafficking, he was a pimp, he received money from this business.”
By now it comes to no surprise to us that drumpf thought it appropriate to name, to one of our most important diplomatic posts, a man who made it his business to promote the interests of a Russian linked sex slaver.
No surprise, but a cause for infinite disgust and sadness.
Read Schindler’s piece. It’s an eye opener.