Sources from Ukraine have stated that a month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy had made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.



McCarthy (R-Calif.) said “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” and according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia. Meanwhile House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) immediately interjected, stopping the conversation from further exploring McCarthy’s assertion, and swore the Republicans present to secrecy.

Image result for Congress House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Before the conversation, McCarthy and Ryan had emerged from separate talks at the Capitol with Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladi­mir Groysman, who had described a Kremlin tactic of financing populist politicians to undercut Eastern European democratic institutions. Washington sources have stated that Russian government hackers had penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee, prompting McCarthy to shift the conversation from Russian meddling in Europe to events closer to home.



Some of the lawmakers laughed at McCarthy’s comment. Then McCarthy quickly added: “Swear to God.” Ryan instructed his Republican lieutenants to keep the conversation private, saying: “No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here.” The House leadership has so far stood by the White House as it has lurched from one crisis to another, much of the turmoil fueled by contacts between Trump and his associates with Russia.


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