US capital ramps up security ahead of white nationalist rally

‘Sunday is likely to be tense. It marks the one-year anniversary of the Charlottesville demonstration in which white supremacists and other far-right groups, angry over efforts to remove statues of Confederate leaders, clashed violently with counterprotesters.

One woman was killed and 19 injured when a 20-year-old man drove a car into a group of the counterprotesters.

President Donald Trump, in a low point of his presidency, blamed “both sides” for the bloodshed, a reaction that triggered astonishment among many and was widely seen as escalating tensions.’

Maria Butina’s alleged backer linked to Kremlin-financed bank and Putin associates

‘Butinas financial backer directly linked to VTB & Sberbank. Those two banks lead directly to Cyprus. Paul Manafort, Wilbur Ross & Cyprus you say? ‘

‘Konstantin Nikolaev worked with two banks and two oligarchs who are all now under US sanctions. Nikolaev was also appointed to a Russian military advisory panel, while his wife has a senior role at a state-backed arms company.

Maria Butina, a 29-year-old Russian woman charged with working to infiltrate the National Rifle Association (NRA) and influence US politics, told senate investigators that Nikolaev, a transportation magnate, gave her financial backing, according to a source with knowledge of her testimony.’

Feds examining suspicious money movements linked to Russian Maria Butina, associates

Report: Butina Probe Predated Mueller, Grew Out Of Suspicious Money Transfers

‘The Tuesday report by McClatchy laid out the origins of the probe into possible Russian attempts to infiltrate and channel money to the National Rifle Association. According to McClatchy, the NRA probe predates President Trump’s January 2017 inauguration, and is being overseen by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia, rather than Special Counsel Robert Mueller. ‘