With the indictment of Maria Butina for conspiracy and acting as an agent of the Russian government, public attention has come upon the Fellowship Foundation. Founded by the late Doug Coe, I crossed paths with the FF beginning in 2009 when Ugandan affiliates of that organization promoted the death penalty for GLB people in the Ugandan Parliament via the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. I took a strong stand against that bill which eventually led to an invitation to the National Prayer Breakfast, hosted each year by the Fellowship. While there, the American leaders allowed me to interview Doug Coe — one of only four published interviews of the reclusive founder — so that he could tell the public in clear terms that he did not favor criminalizing homosexuality.
Now via the documents describing the indictment of alleged Russian operative Maria Butina, the National Prayer Breakfast is again in public focus. The documents refer to an organizer of the prayer breakfast and various individuals who Butina contacted. While I don’t know for certain in each case who she contacted, a source close to the Fellowship told me that Doug Burleigh, the son-in-law of Doug Coe, is the person at the organization who handles networking with the Russian affiliates.
Burleigh Predicted Trump and Putin Would Have a Breakthrough
Almost exactly a year ago at the Russian version of the prayer breakfast, Doug Burleigh made a prediction. A news article from the Russian Evangelical Alliance tells the story:
On another note, Doug Burleigh from Washington’s National Prayer Breakfast forecast that “a breakthrough in relations between Russia and the USA is about to occur. The greatest possible hope for Russia and the USA is friendship between our nations. I believe that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will yet become friends.” (Reverse translation from the Russian.)
I wonder how Burleigh knew such a breakthrough was about to happen. Prophecy? Or perhaps he was on the inside of efforts to make it so. According to the indictment documents, the National Prayer Breakfast organizers were aware of a desire to bring Vladimir Putin to the event. Butina also promised to keep them apprised of new developments in the effort to improve relations between the two nations and the two presidents.
The refusal of Donald Trump to criticize or hold Vladimir Putin accountable has puzzled numerous observers. Behind the scenes, an effort to craft a friendship between Trump and Putin has been in operation for several years.
Were the Russians using the National Prayer Breakfast as a ploy to advance political goals? Is the talk of faith a means to a darker end? Butina will have her day in court and I hope evangelicals who went along for her ride will watch and listen carefully.
READ THE AFFIDAVIT AND THE COMPLAINT.
Read Today’s Filing Asking the Court to Prevent Butina’s Flight
Jeff Sharlet’s book on the Fellowship can be found here.
Like this article and want to see more like it? Support this blog at Patreon.com.
READ THE AFFIDAVIT AND THE COMPLAINT
Read Today’s Filing Asking the Court to Prevent Butina’s Flight
Did anyone notice?… From “The Affidavit and Complaint above. “On December 1, 2016, U.S. Person 1 emailed
BUTINA with instructions for “what is required to book the Russian
delegation hotel rooms in the Washington Hilton – the actual venue of the
National Prayer Breakfast.” The email listed rooms and prices, and U.S.
Person 1 noted, “To be safe, I’d ask [the RUSSIAN OFFICIAL] to place US
$3500 on one of your Russian charge cards in order to pay these deposits.”
And from the flight risk motion above…
“In addition, on July 12, 2018, Butina
and U.S. Person 1 were observed entering a bank in Washington, D.C., and
sending an international wire transfer in the amount of $3,500 to an account in
Russia. Although the government does not proffer that it knows the purpose of
that transfer at this point, the amount shows her access to funds, and the
location of the recipient underscores her
ties to Russia.”
“…and I hope evangelicals who went along for her ride will watch and listen carefully.”
I hope they have to testify, if they aren’t charged…which, I bet, we will learn they deserve.
Since when are guns and religion strange bedfellows? Though I’ll admit, I’m still convinced we’re seeing many parts of Aleksandr Dugin’s “Foundations of Geopolitics” come to fruition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics
Trump and Putin have a lot in common, but I don’t think I’d call the result “friendship.” Putin has nearly unlimited money and nearly unlimited power–things that Trump wants and envies Putin for having. Putin has leverage over Trump, since Russian money has been financing his projects for years, since US banks have refused to lend him any more. Putin helped Trump attain a position of great power in the US, and expects to be paid back–not in money, but in weakening US power by driving our allies away, threatening our institutions, and distracting the country while Russia gains influence and territory in the Balkans and Syria. and lifting US sanctions against Russia. Should Trump refuse, his real estate empire will collapse.
What on earth makes these two attractive to Evangelicals? Their actions are about as far from the teachings of Christianity as it is possible to be.
Re: Trump: nominating two far right Supreme Court Justices will forgive a multitude of sins. If Roe vs Wade is overturned in the next two years, they will make him a saint. Then, of course, there’s his immigration policy “preventing” millions more brown people from voting Democratic in the next election.
Regarding Putin, right wing conservative Christians have always been seduced by the type of power Putin wields when it’s in the name of “conservative values”. Again, the ends justify the means. They are willing to overlook his murderous despotic ways, because he’s delivering on his promise to turn Russia into a nationalistic, anti-Muslim, anti-gay, anti-feminist, anti-liberal state.
Putin embodies the type of muscular Old Testament Christianity they yearn for. Blessed are the meek, and turn the other cheek are for liberal wimps.
I remember I’ve discussed this issue on another thread about Doug Burleigh on how Russia and Putin is supposedly influenced by American evangelicals and vice versa, and that is nothing but a spin done by the Radical Left.
What on earth makes these two attractive to Evangelicals? Their actions are about as far from the teachings of Christianity as it is possible to be.
That depends, I’m finding out. Cultural Evangelicals saw the Cold War as a contest between God in the US and the godless Russians, whereas those involved with foreign policy saw it as an ideological contest between freedom and totalitarianism, but both were united against Russia. However, after the Cold War a schism developed between them as shown by those who urged US involvement in former Yugoslavia on the grounds of human rights and those who saw Russia defending Christians against Muslims and thought the US should do the same.
So now Russia has culturally become the world’s defender of Christianity against radical Islam, Muslims themselves, homosexuals, gendered restrooms, abortions, etc. Trump’s first National Security Advisor, Mike Flynn, subscribes to this view. The alt-right goes further and sees Russia as the “sole white power in the world.” And Trump has found a way to play to the Evangelicals and reward Putin at the same time.
Here’s some articles:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/the-conservative-split-on-russia/510317/
http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-connections-to-the-alt-right-2016-11
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/02/how-russia-became-a-leader-of-the-worldwide-christian-right-214755
It’s a spin that Evangelicals are attracted to Putin. The reason being that he made a law that makes is it difficult for Protestant Christians. While they might approve of his “gay propaganda” law but they don’t necessarily condone everything that he does.
Very strange but weirdly funny that these end-timer conservative “Christians” would allow themselves to become so infatuated with Putin- who by every indication is the best candidate for the “King of the North” in Biblical prophecy terms.
Indeed, Jesus has been Left Behind by these rapture-myth dispensationalists. When Jesus is absent from one’s theology, the fraudulent gospel of TrumpPutin becomes possible.
Yep. Not that I believe in End Times theology myself, but if it actually happened, it’s blindingly obvious these people would be the first ones to rally to the side of the Antichrist as his most loyal subjects.
Always thought the same.
See http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/07/alleged-spy-butina-tied-to-christian-right-gun-groups.html?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=s3&utm_campaign=sharebutton-t
” So there is a U.S. religious constituency that very self-consciously supports Trump’s apparent interest in forming a new world order based on a Washington-Moscow axis, outflanking the decadent, secular, tolerant globalists of Western Europe.”
Pence may be in it up to his eyeballs too, inquiries continue. Remember his record and flexibility when it comes to political financing.
” Campaign finance records from the 1990 effort showed that Pence, then 31, had been using political donations to pay the mortgage on his house, his personal credit card bill, groceries, golf tournament fees and car payments for his wife.”
Well that alleged collusion certainly explains a lot. If true. More data needed .
But that’s all okay, because he’s always voted the right way and is always nice to his fellow conservative Christians…
Yes, of course, to both questions. It is shameful that anyone with lick of sense would believe that Putin has anything less than entirely cynical intentions when it comes to using religion for his purposes. He is a despot in all but name. He has eliminated political opponents, destroyed freedom of press, setup a rubber-stamping puppet parliament, and has rewritten the Russian constitution to ensure his will be president for life.
The darker end is the political destruction of the Western Alliance. With his lapdog Donald Trump on his side, he’s closer now than he could have even imagined just four years ago.
Yes, of course, to both questions. It is shameful that anyone with lick of sense would believe that Putin has anything less than entirely cynical intentions when it comes to using religion for his purposes. He is a despot in all but name. He has eliminated political opponents, destroyed freedom of press, setup a rubber-stamping puppet parliament, and has rewritten the Russian constitution to ensure his will be president for life.
The darker end is the political destruction of the Western Alliance. With his lapdog Donald Trump on his side, he’s closer now than he could have even imagined just four years ago.
Lets not forget shooting down MH17 https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/18/australia/mh17-australian-dad-trump-intl/index.html, his invasion of Crimea, killing dissidents in our allied country of Great Britain and intervention in Syria.
We sort of cross posted here – I left a comment about Joe Gregory and his ties to the Family and the National Prayer breakfast in your last post.:^) Sorry about that, I had your last post up in a feed and didn’t see this one.
Jeff Sharlet traced the influence of the Russians in The National Prayer Breakfast in his books and articles and has been updating info on his twitter feed since the Butina arrest.
Article at Medium on the NRA, From Russia with Love for the NRA. https://medium.com/@LaddEveritt/from-russia-with-love-for-the-nra-ffc69088fe41
Good interview with Jeff Sharlet just went up at Vox – How the National Prayer Breakfast plays into the indictment of an alleged Russian Spy.
https://www.vox.com/2018/7/18/17586516/jeff-sharlet-maria-butrina-national-prayer-breakfast-the-family
Jeff was on CNN tonight with Don Lemon talking about how Butina used the National Prayer breakfast.
Can’t pull it up, isn’t posted yet for us Canucks.