April 6, 2018

Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Russian Oligarchs

The announcement made no specific reference to Russia’s interference in the United States’ 2016 elections.

Metzel Mikhail/ZUMA

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The Trump administration announced sanctions against 17 Russian government officials and seven oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin on Friday, punishing some of the country’s richest people. The list includes Oleg Deripaska, a business associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Putin’s son-in-law Kirill Shamalov was also named in the latest round of sanctions.

“The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement. Mnuchin cited Russia’s occupation of Crimea, activities in eastern Ukraine, and alliance with the Assad regime as several reasons for the new round of sanctions. While the statement also criticizes Russia for “attempting to subvert Western democracies” and “malicious cyber activities,” it makes no specific reference to Russia’s interference in the United States’ 2016 elections.

Friday’s sanctions follow the administration’s move last week to expel 60 Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in England last month. On Tuesday, Trump asserted that he could have a “very good” relationship with his Russian counterpart. “I think we’ll be able to have great dialogue, I hope,” Trump said. “Getting along with Russia would be a good thing, not a bad thing.”

 “Just about everybody agrees to that, except very stupid people,” he added.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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