On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) assured America he doesn't use encrypted messaging apps like signal.
"I get about 400 a day literally just from members," Johnson said at an Axios News Shapers event in Washington, DC. "A lot of them text. That's our main means of communication."
He added, jokingly: "Probably being monitored by the Russians, for all I know."
What a funny joke to make considering the previously confirmed Russian oligarch and Putin loyalist financial contributions to Johnson.😅
At the time the donations to Johnson's campaign were made by American Ethane, the majority of shares (88%) were owned by three Russian nationalists. Konstantin Nikolaev, Mikhail Yuriev, and Andrey Kunatbaev. As this Newsweek article points out, Nikolaev is a top ally of Putin.
The majority of Americans may not be aware that Mikhail Yuriev is also a famous Putin loyalist. So much so, Yuriev wrote a "fictional" novel about a Russian leader that shares a striking resemblance to Putin.
The novel is famous among far right Russian nationalists and Putin has called it his favorite book, The Third Empire: Russia as It Ought to Be.
The 2006 novel preemptively describes the strategy to invade Ukraine years before it actually began. The novel envisions Russia as a 3rd Rome, eventually conquering the entire globe. In the novel, Russia drops a nuclear bomb on the U.S. after conquering Europe. The U.S. surrenders to Russia, and a victory parade is held on May 9th in Red Square
representatives of the American elite: President [George] Bush III and former presidents Bill Clinton, Bush Junior, and Hillary Clinton; current and former members of the cabinet, the House, and the Senate; bankers and industrialists; newspaper commentators and television anchors; famous attorneys and top models; pop singers and Hollywood actresses. All of them passed through Red Square in shackles and with nameplates around their necks. … The Russian government was letting its own citizens and the whole world know that Russia had fought with and vanquished not only the American army but the American civilization.
Here is an archived copy of the Atlantic article about the Russian novel without a paywall
Updating this to include more information: It might be worth mentioning here that each year, Russia actually holds a giant military victory parade in Moscow's Red Square to commemorate the end of WWII. Putin usually uses the parade to show off Russia's military power, and invites foreign leaders to attend. G.W. Bush (Bush III) attended the parade in 2005 (the year before Yuriev's novel was published). However, in recent years, no western leaders have attended.
In January, Putin announced that the 2025 victory parade would include a mystery "big guest," from the U.S.
Interestingly, with the date of Putin's annual victory parade approaching, Kyiv has asked EU officials to visit on Kyiv on May 9th as a show of diplomatic force against Putin. Separately, Zelenskyy is meeting with members of the coalition of the willing, to determine security guarantees for Ukraine.
As of this morning, Russian state media announced Marco Rubio will be attending the upcoming parade.
Rubio's attendance has not been confirmed by U.S. officials, but if true, could potentially send a message about U.S. loyalties among ongoing tension between Russia and U.S. NATO allies.