… A significant shift has been underway in recent years across the Republican right. From gun rights to terrorism to same-sex marriage, many leading advocates on the right who grew frustrated with their country’s leftward tilt under President Barack Obama have forged ties with well-connected Russians and come to see that country’s authoritarian leader, Vladimir Putin, as a potential ally. …
Russians and Americans involved in developing new ties say they are not part of a Kremlin effort to influence U.S. politics. “We know nothing about that,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. CONT.
Rosalind S. Helderman & Tom Hamburger, Washington Post