Former Putin Aide Is Found Dead in Washington Hotel

New York Times ^ | November 6, 2015 | Associated Press

[Brad from Tennessee]

WASHINGTON — Mikhail Lesin, a former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin who helped found the English-language news service Russia Today, has been found dead in an upscale Washington hotel room.

The Russian Embassy in Washington on Friday confirmed the death of Lesin, whose body was discovered Thursday. Russia Today reported on its website that Lesin, 57, died of a heart attack.

Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Officer Sean Hickman said that officers were called to the Dupont Circle Hotel about 11:30 a.m. Thursday and found a man dead. Russian Embassy spokesman Yury Melnik confirmed that the man was Lesin.

Russia Today, commonly known as RT, credited Lesin with "inspiring the creation" of the agency.

Lesin served as Russian press minister from 1999 to 2004 and presidential media adviser from 2004 to 2009, RT said. He then became a senior executive at Gazprom-Media, Russia's largest media holding company.

[JediJones]

Real heart attack or Breitbart heart attack?

[1rudeboy]

RT will report that Soros did it.

[Autonomous User]

Back in the day they died of a “cold.”

[Norm Lenhart]

So did Vlad do it to set Barry up or did Barry do it to set Vlad up?

[Wilhelm Tell]

Vlad sure reaches far and wide...

[lee martell]

That potato vodka with every meal probably didn’t help either.

[C210N]

Real heart attack or Breitbart heart attack?

Could have been neither.

Instead, it could have been witness-to-a-death-itis or assistant-coronor's-syndrome.

[Peter ODonnell]

Maybe somebody showed him the full list of what ISIS has and how they got it.

[stormer]

That’s my favorite hotel in D.C.

[gleeaikin]

While RT puts a Russian slant on most of their stories and news, they don’t always sing Putin’s praise.

[gleeaikin]

Oh MG, I spent my wedding night in that hotel!

[ETL]

List of journalists killed in Russia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia#A_list_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia

[ETL]

So did Vlad do it to set Barry up or did Barry do it to set Vlad up?

Vlad did it cuz Vlad is Vlad. That is how the KGB/FSB operates. Wouldn't be his first.

[grania]

Whenever there's a "death by heart attack" of a man in his 50s or older registered alone in a hotel room, my first though is "was he with a hooker"?

On to the intrigue stuff if that's not it.

[Norm Lenhart]

Oh I wouldn’t doubt it. Nor would I doubt that we are back in the assassination business after what happened with Kadaffi.

Or Brietbart.

Or the rolling Stone guy with oddly bad breaks on his computerized car.

[AdmSmith]

Last year, Republican Senator Robert Wicker of Mississippi called for a probe of Lesin on suspicion of money laundering and corruption, according to ABC News. He allegedly amassed millions of dollars in assets in Europe and the United States while working for the government. This included $28 million (25.8 million euros) in real estate in Los Angeles, the US network ABC reported.
“That a Russian public servant could have amassed the considerable funds required to acquire and maintain these assets in Europe and the United States raises serious questions,” Wicker wrote, according to ABC.

http://www.dw.com/en/former-russian-press-minister-mikhail-lesin-dies-in-washington/a-18833676

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Could be one of our imported Muslims. Just saying.

Russia has had a very bad week.

[tuffydoodle]

“Oh MG, I spent my wedding night in that hotel!”

Whew, that was a close call!

[HomerBohn]

Curiouser and curiouser.