President Trump continues to please Putin. Last month, his administration removed sanctions from Putin’s “favorite industrialist,” the Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska.

It wasn’t easy. In April, Deripaska and his companies were sanctioned along with others for Putin’s treacherous attack on our 2016 elections and other “malicious” acts. Republicans as well as Democrats applauded those sanctions.

In December, those same Republicans were needed to lift Deripaska’s sanctions. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin told them that in a negotiated deal, Deripaska’s wealth and influence would be “significantly diminished.” Still, many Senate Republicans balked but Mitch McConnell held together just enough Republicans to allow it.

Then things unraveled.

• The House rebuked Trump’s deal in a non-biding vote of 362 to 53 – including 136 Republicans.
•  Then documents revealed that Mnuchin’s deal was not as harsh as advertised.
• Not only did the deal eliminate hundreds of millions of Deripaska’s debt, he retained control of his companies by simply shifting some stock to allies and his charitable foundation.

Senator Wyden and House Democrats last week demanded information from the Treasury about the sanction’s removal. Please tell your MOC to pursue the inquiries into Deripaska’s deal. Also, tell them you support HR 1 with its strong anticorruption measures.