DAVID CORN: After we published THIS - Dem Party of Albania & Russian Embassy in Tirana denounced us

[kpete]

After @MotherJones published this piece, the Democratic Party of Albania *and* the Russian embassy in Tirana denounced us!



On Tuesday, Mother Jones published a lengthy investigation about a mysterious Russian-linked firm that hired a former Trump campaign aide named Nick Muzin to work in the United States to help the right-wing Democratic Party of Albania during the country’s 2017 parliamentary elections. The story zeroed in on Biniatta Trade, a Scotland-based shell company that paid Muzin $150,000, and perhaps more, to help the DPA and its chairman, Lulzim Basha. According to corporate filings in the United Kingdom, the two Belize-based shell companies that created Biniatta Trade were linked to other firms controlled by Russian nationals. It was a complicated trail, and here’s a chart to help explain what Mother Jones uncovered:



The bottom-line question was this: Did Russians use the political system in the US to meddle in Albanian politics?

We tried to track down these Russian-linked companies and their representatives—examining Russian corporate records, sending a reporter to several addresses in Moscow, and calling and emailing entities and inviduals in Russia, Ukraine, Canada, and the United States.We never obtained a complete answer. But our question hit a nerve. Over the last two days, several media outlets in Albania reprinted pieces of our story, as Albanian politicians and the Russian embassy in Tirana denounced the article—and Mother Jones.

The Democratic Party of Albania issued a statement alleging that the ruling Socialist Party paid Mother Jones, which it called “second-hand media,” to “forge facts.” The DPA’s statement denied any ties to Russian-linked shell companies. “The Democratic Party has not had and has no direct or indirect links with Russian individuals or companies,” said the party. Yet records filed with the US Justice Department state that Biniatta Trade paid Muzin, the lobbyist, to do work on behalf of the DPA.

In a statement to the independent Albanian newspaper, Shqiptarja, Mother Jones said, “The charge that Mother Jones received payment from Edi Rama for publishing this article is absurd. We never accept payment for an investigation under any circumstances and certainly did not in this case.”

Soon, Shqiptarja interviewed the reporters who worked on the piece, landing us on the front page:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/after-a-mother-jones-investigation-a-right-wing-albanian-party-attacks/

[sharedvalues]

1. The newspaper got David Corn wrong

they mislabeled the photos. Sad.

[poboy2]

2. heh. -nt

[BumRushDaShow]

3. LOL

[Kurt V.]

4. Mother Jones

is one of my 'must read daily'.

[Blue_Tires]

5. kick