Episode Details

While the world is distracted, members of Congress are writing bills designed to steal Russia's money and give it to Ukraine. In this episode, listen to the pitch being made to Congress as we examine if this is a good idea. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! View the show notes on our website at https://congressionaldish.com/cd284-thieving-russia Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD276: The Demise of Dollar Dominance CD244: Keeping Ukraine Taking the Russian money: is it legal? U.S. Code Title 50, Chapter 35, Section 1702 "Once More on the REPO Act." Lee C. Buchheit and Paul Stephan. October 20, 2023. Lawfare. "Yellen Endorses Windfall Tax on Frozen Russian Assets" Chelsey Dulaney and Andrew Duehren. October 11, 2023. The Wall Street Journal. "The Other Counteroffensive to Save Ukraine." Lawrence H. Summers, Philip Zelikow, and Robert B. Zoellick. June 15, 2023. Foreign Affairs. "Giving Russian Assets to Ukraine—Freezing Is Not Seizing." Paul Stephan. April 26, 2022. Lawfare. "$100 Billion. Russia's Treasure in the U.S. Should Be Turned Against Putin." Laurence H. Tribe and Jeremy Lewin. April 15, 2022. The New York Times. "Executive Order on Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation." April 15, 2021. President Joe Biden. White House Briefing Room. What we're being told about Ukraine "To date, Ukraine has reclaimed more than half the territory Russia seized since 2022. Arms and equipment announced today as part of continued U.S. assistance will help sustain Ukraine's battlefield needs." Secretary of State Anthony Blinken [@SecBlinken]. November 3, 2023. Twitter. "Ukraine in maps: Tracking the war with Russia" Visual Journalism Team. September 29, 2023. BBC News. "Mapping Ukraine's counteroffensive." June 2023. Reuters. Israel-Hamas War "Gaza's hospitals report growing threats from Israeli airstrikes ." Jaclyn Diaz and Aya Batrawy. November 7, 2023. NPR. "Biden Wants Arms Deals With Israel to Be Done in Complete Secrecy." Sharon Zhang. November 2, 2023. Bills H.R. 6126: Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate H.R. 4175: REPO for Ukrainians Act Audio Sources A Review of the National Security Supplemental Request October 31, 2023 Senate Appropriations Committee Watch on C-SPAN Witnesses: Antony Blinken, Secretary, U.S. Department of State Lloyd Austin, Secretary, U.S. Department of Defense Clips 1:05:05 Secretary of State Antony Blinken: If you look at total assistance to Ukraine going back to February of 2022, the United States has provided about $75 billion our allies and partners $90 billion. If you look at budget support, the United States has provided about $22 billion during that period, allies and partners $49 billion during that period; military support, we provided about $43 billion allies and partners $33 billion; humanitarian assistance, the United States $2.3 billion allies and partners 4.5 billion, plus another $18 to $20 billion in caring for the many refugees who went to Europe and outside of Ukraine. Israel and Ukraine Against Terror October 19, 2023 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (The Helsinki Commission) Watch on YouTube Witnesses: Eliav Benjamin, Deputy Head of Mission, The Embassy of Israel to the United States Jamil N. Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director, National Security Institute at George Mason University Dr. Jonathan Schanzer,