Free Republic

Nellie Ohr told lawmakers in October that one of Fusion GPS’s sources was a Ukrainian parliamentarian whose government has accused him of illegally meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Ohr, a former Fusion GPS contractor, testified that Serhiy Leshchenko was a source for the Democrat-funded opposition research firm. Leshchenko was the leading force behind the release of the so-called “black ledger,” which accused Paul Manafort of receiving illicit payments from the Ukrainian government. The ledger led to Manafort’s firing from the Trump campaign, but its validity remains in dispute. A member of the Ukrainian parliament accused in his home country...

...Ukraine's experience has become a democratic benchmark. By briefly overlaying Iraq on Ukraine, we may better understand Iraq's prospects. Vladimir Putin last week mocked the likelihood of a real democratic event happening in Iraq next month.... Courts function in Iraq, but unlike Ukraine judges in Iraq must worry about being shot.... As important is a thriving middle class -- "independent economic forces that can financially support alternative political parties and the like." But he pointed out the danger of minimizing a nation's prospects by underestimating the momentum of the democratic process.... Iraq's instability, notably in the country's center, is well...