the gipper would be proud of some of its employees. take sam paton. he ran the moscow office from 2001 to 2004. he just pled guilty to charges of illegally lobbying in the u.s. for pro-russian politicians in ukraine. his business partner, one constantine kalemnik who worked for the iri. he took over the moscow office when paton left in 2004. rarely caught on camera, colleagues named him the invisible man. documents filed by mueller s office have linked him to russian intelligence. now kalemnik is better known as paul manafort s alleged partner in crime. the two of them are accused just like paton, of promoting russian interests in ukraine. what happened inside that office? how did employees who were hired to promote democratic values end up working for the wrong side?
at the height of the cold war, president reagan launched a crusade to confront the soviet union, not with more nuclear weapons, but with ideals. if the rest of this century is to witness the gradual growth of freedom and democratic ideals, we must take actions to assist the campaign for democracy. one action was founding the international republican institute, or iri, the following year. its mission? to spread the light of democracy around the globe. by 1993, the u.s. victory in the war of ideals was sealed when the iri opened an office in moscow. but it s hard to imagine that the gipper would be proud of some of its employees. take sam paton. he ran the moscow office from 2001 to 2004. he just pled guilty to charges