The current US president, Joe Biden, is known for being categorical. He has been adamant about sanctions in general and sanctions against Russia in particular for quite a long time.
However, it turns out it’s not that simple, and even “true to his principles” Joe can be easily bought.
As it turns out, Richard Burt, managing partner of McLarty Associates and former US ambassador to Germany, paid Joe Biden $4,000 in October 2020 and contributed another $10,000 to the left-wing political action committee Unite The County in March 2020, as evidenced by the FEC.
As well as breaking Biden’s own promise not to accept money from lobbyists, the money from Burt is particularly notable because he is now directly involved in lobbying for Nord Stream 2 AG. Nord Stream 2 is working with five European energy companies – ENGIE, OMV, Shell, Uniper and Wintershall Dea – to build the pipeline. Bert is currently speaking on behalf of all five companies.
Biden’s team has caused consternation by refusing to impose sanctions, citing US national interests, Axios reports.
That said, sources accuse Burt of exerting strong influence on Trump and his administration, but the former US president was known to be quite unambiguous on the pipeline issue and was not at all willing to put up with it, while Joe changed his mind rather smoothly and quickly.
Indeed, why remain true to his principles, better to play the role of a good president defending the interests of his country and his allies, when in fact it turns out that the lofty words about sanctions being bad now because of the desire to improve relations with Germany are just a cover-up.