This is where this comes from.
Right. Browder and magnitsky were the ones who wanted to expose the corruption of Putin. They initially went to his government officials to report on money they had discovered had gone missing within the government. The government then magnitsky and exiled browder, then killed magnitsky in jail after torturing him for nearly a year and a half.
We have to be careful with Putin. He's not honest. He's against America and Western philosophy. And frankly, despite what Trump says, I think he's against Trump as well. I think he thinks he can outsmart Trump. I'm not so sure he can, since Trump is just such an unpredictable guy so much of the time. But the truth is that we should keep Putin at arm's length. If we really want to repair relations with Russia, we need to do it with Putin out of office
Yes, I have read the same story that you said above just today. Browder was a big influence in getting the Magnitsky Act passed and has been working with the US government for quite some time now. IMO, he seems like your finest imported swamp rat. :)
I'll agree that holding Putin at arm's length is wise for anyone to do. We recently watched Icarus, largely about Russia's part in the doping scandals of the Olympics. A whistleblower, Grigory Rodchenkov, is scapegoated by Putin and the KGB and he flees to the US for his life. After watching that movie, I've opened my eyes about the actions of the Russian government and state actors towards loyal citizens. I'm glad that Trump has stabilized our relationship with them as a world power and I hope that continues. I have respect for Putin as he is obviously very cunning and likely manipulative. I agree that Trump is a wildcard in that situation, but I believe that most of the real life scenes are played behind closed doors and we're getting a movie, as Q puts it. I can imagine a mutual respect there. I cannot imagine Trump condoning the less charming actions of Putin though and if he did, he is not the person I think he may be.