The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia officials meet ban from Russia with jokes
Brad Raffensperger probably thought the only place he couldn’t go was Donald Trump’s Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. Now, Russia is a big nyet. Moscow, St. Petersburg and even Vladivostok are off-limits to the Georgia secretary of state, one of 500 Americans who are banned from entering the country, accused of spreading Russophobia, aiding Ukraine or committing other “offenses.”
Other notables on the list, according to The Associated Press, include former President Barack Obama, comedian Stephen Colbert, two former U.S. ambassadors to Russia, several U.S. senators and dozens of members of the U.S. House. Other notable Georgians hit with the ban include Republican U.S. Reps.
Mike Collins and Rich McCormick, plus Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta and aide to President Joe Biden.
The snub doesn’t appear to bother Raffensperger.
“While I was previously unaware of my anti-Russian activities, I accept the verdict of Russia, whose commitment to truth, justice and the rule of law speaks for itself,” he said in a statement. “I can see where my commitment to free, fair and accurate elections, my tendency to speak truth to power and strong stance against war crimes would offend President (Vladimir) Putin’s sensibilities. I accept that I’m not their cup of Russian tea.”
Like Raffensperger, Collins took the news well.
“Oh no! The thug with a gas station banned me from his country,” Collins said, apparently referencing the prominence of petroleum in Russia’s economy.
The list didn’t give reasons for each individual’s ban, but the Russian Foreign Ministry said its targets included “those in government and law enforcement agencies who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents in the wake of the so-called storming of the Capitol.”
Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times and also once the Moscow bureau chief for The Washington Post, noted that while Raffensperger and several others on the list have no role in U.S. or Russian foreign policy, they likely gained Moscow’s attention because Trump has “publicly assailed them.”