magnitsky, as i've learned, is a hugely important thing. and not to me, and not to you, but to vladimir putin. if you remember, he spoke about it at helsinki while standing next to donald trump. >> sure. >> so when the attorney talked about adoptions, she was talking about really just the punishment that the russians -- >> right. >> the very people that she talked about, who were doing this illegal funding to democrats, the ziff brothers and bill bradder, if i'm not mistaken, they are the architect of the magnitsky act. so it's all connected in some way. and hopefully the incredible job, and i don't know how they do this, that the mueller team are investigating all these pieces, maybe they will find that that is what it was. that it was a bait and switch, but it's hugely important. that's what the attorneys seem to be giving them. look, these people who are these bad people, who are giving money to the democrats and to the candidate, hillary clinton, are also the architects of the magnitsky act. lift those sanctions. >> rob goldstone, there

are we going to apply magnitsky act against them? >> thank you, congressman, for that question. the state department is very concerned about chinese treatment of uighurs. we are encouraging the chinese government through diplomatic channels to ensure that they allow the practice of freedom of religion, they respect human dignity. >> but this is a hearing on sanctions. are we going to sanction them? >> yes, congressman. when it comes to sanctions rollouts, we are not able to preview what we might do. i can tell you we are looking at the situation and global magnitsky is a tool that we use to curb human rights abuses around the world. >> it's peculiar you can't talk to congress about what you might do, but i yield back. >> we go to mr. ted yoho from florida. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'd like to thank you both for being here today. when you look around the world, there's a lot of enemies not treating us real nice and going after a lot of different systems and our electoral system. then you throw north korea in there and what china is doing to march around the world and take over

official was asked of the magnitsky act could be applied as a us human rights law that allows the president to sanction individuals being responsible for committing human rights violations china is imprisoning perhaps a million are we going to use magick machine see act against them thank you congressman for that question the state department is very concerned about chinese tweet treatment of readers we are encouraging the chinese government through diplomatic channels to ensure that they allow their practice their freedom of religion they respect human dignity but this is a hearing on sanctions are we going to say yes congressman when it comes to sanctions rollouts we are not able to preview what we might do but i can tell you we are looking at the situation and global magnitsky is a tool that we use to curb human rights abuses around the world in southeast asia people are bracing for super typhoon monk court which is gathering strength in the philippines thousands of people have been evacuated from coastal areas of the philippines main island luzon the typhoon is expected to make landfall

state department figure was asked of the magnitsky act could be applied that's a us human rights law that allows the president to target individuals responsible for committing human rights violations. china's imprisoning perhaps a million are we going to use magick act against them thank you congressman for that question the state department is very concerned about chinese tweet treatment of weak years we are encouraging the chinese government through diplomatic channels to ensure that they allow the practice of freedom of religion they respect human dignity but this is a hearing on sanctions are we going to say yes congressman when it comes to sanctions rollouts we are not able to preview what we might do but i can tell you we are looking at the situation and global magnitsky is a tool that we use to curb human rights abuses around the world the international whaling commission has approved a declaration to restore wild populations to the levels before industrial fishing began the non-binding declaration is a major blow for japan or just trying to end a thirty three year bad on comm

not able to preview what we might do but i can tell you we are looking at the situation and global magnitsky is a tool that we use to curb human rights abuses around the world in southeast asia people are bracing for super typhoon monkhood which is gathering strength of the philippines thousands of people have been evacuated from coastal areas the philippines may not and luzon typhoons are expected to make landfall on saturday with wind speeds of up to two hundred forty kilometers an hour it's predicted to be the strongest of fifteen storms which is the better of the country to secure it. now a new report by the overseas development and its institute warns the world is not on trying to end extreme poverty by twenty thirty that target was set by world leaders in twenty fifteen the world bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than one dollar ninety per person per day it affects eight hundred million people today and that number is expected to have by twenty thirty but the report says extreme poverty will persist without increased investment in health education and social protection it

state department official was asked of the magnitsky act could be applied that the u.s. human rights law that allows the president to target individuals responsible for committing human rights violations. china's imprisoning perhaps a million are we going to use magick act against them thank you congressman for that question the state department is very concerned about chinese tweet treatment of weak years we are encouraging the chinese government through diplomatic channels to ensure that they allow the practice of freedom of religion they respect human dignity but this is a hearing on sanctions are we going to say yes congressman when it comes to sanctions rollouts we are not able to preview what we might do but i can tell you we are looking at this situation and global magnitsky is a tool that we use to curb human rights abuses around the world afghans are suffering from a drought so severe that a quarter of a million have abandoned their homes so far this year and search of water and food the u.n. says more afghans have left their homes because of drought than war bu

state department figure was asked of the magnitsky act could be applied as a us human rights law that allows the president to target individuals responsible for committing human rights violations. china's imprisoning bribes a million are we going to use magick act against thank you congressman for that question the state department is very concerned about chinese tweet treatment of weekers we are encouraging the chinese government through diplomatic channels to ensure that they allow the practice of freedom of religion they respect human dignity but this is a hearing on sanctions are we going to say yes congressman when it comes to sanctions rollouts we are not able to preview what we might do but i can tell you we are looking at the situation and global magnitsky is a tool that we use to curb human rights abuses around the world. the european court of human why those are with some of the u.k.'s mass surveillance techniques violated citizen's right to privacy the court criticize high tech methods used by british intelligence that were exposed by american whistleblower edward snowden f

state department figure was asked if the magnitsky act could be applied to us human rights nor that allowsthe president target individuals responsible for committing human rights violations is its response china is imprisoning perhaps a million are we going to use magick machine she act against thank you congressman for that question the state department is very concerned about chinese treat treatment of weak years we are encouraging the chinese government through diplomatic channels to ensure that they allow the practice of freedom of religion they respect human dignity but this is a hearing on sanctions are we going to say yes congressman when it comes to sanctions rollouts we are not able to preview what we might do but i can tell you we are looking at the situation and global magnitsky is a tool that we use to curb human rights abuses around the world as ring in rose in jordan in washington d.c. for us was why are the state department's common significant. well following monday's testimony before a house subcommittee on thursday it's significant because usually the u.s. government does

and enacting the global magnitsky human rights accountability act, named after russian businessman who was murdered by corrupt russian authorities, to hold regimes accountable for human rights abuses. and it includes passing through the full house just last week the cyber deterrence and response act, to name and shame and sanction for an actors who carry out cyber attacks against the united states. we have taken these actions together because most of us have been concern about administration policies towards russia. i certainly have been. so i intend for the committee to continue to pursue its serious bipartisan and consequential oversight, but for the reasons i have laid out i can support this resolution and urge my colleagues to join me in reporting it adversely to the house. mr. engel. >> thank you ve ry much, mr. chairman. and as i said many, many times privately and publicly, i want to thank you for the fairway you always run this committee i know this is an unusual situation for us, for both of us, but we've reached the point with this administration when i believe it's time for

as far as magnitsky goes, atrocities that has been committed for the 27 years.the country has been looted. when you met the use in the communities in ethiopia, you hear the stories. the young oromo man who was snatched from the street and put in prison, and then he lost his two legs in the chambers, torture chambers. >> i was trying to get at, if you were suggesting that the magnitsky act be in force before the is a truth and reconciliation process within ethiopia, or that would be one of the results? i can come with look at your recommendations and i'm trying to compile them, , understand. then how to move forward with them. so that would be a reconciliation and in the u.s. would respond? are you saying the u.s. should respond before? >> i am sure, i think and how resolution 128, magnitsky human rights act apply globally, so -- >> right. >> the u.s. could act now to those offenders who are on some of them, for example, the head of security forces. so the united states can be able to apply that. >> okay, thank you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. thank you

secretary billingslea: ok, on global magnitsky, we appreciate the authorities that were given. rep. ros-lehtinen: could you put the mica little bit closer? asst. secretary billingslea: yes, congresswoman. we have identified 83 individuals under global magnitsky, which signals our determination to calm her -- combat human rights abuses and corruption, wherever it occurs. and nicaragua is clearly an outrageous situation, a truly atrocious situation. .enezuela takes the cake what they are doing to the people of venezuela, with 2.3 million migrants, and economy in a death spiral, they have stolen everything there is to steal from the oil sector and now they are looting, stripping the forest and losing gold and what -- looting gold and whatever is left. maduro and his cronies must be held accountable, and to that held a councily to put a spotlight on this matter. please note that the treasury department is all over this matter. you asked a key question regarding "automatic sanctions." i have to say, mandatory sanctions are not really the way to go in our view, simply -- it is not because

he was very much involved in the case of sergio magnitsky, which is this act, sentences on russia andiry. given the ongoing situation between the russian government and salisbury and other things, it does not seem quite —— it does seem quite an embarrassing scenario here. clearly, we don't know are the reasons these allegations were pursued. and sometimes, there are legal hurdles that make things look definitely suspect not possible to pursue and also some areas of life. but on the other hand, as you just said, one would hope that every single effort was made to deal with the sort of russian dirty money, notjust russian dirty money, notjust russian but any sort of dirty money coming into this country. not enough action has been taken in this. we have yet to see a great deal of substance. it is troubling and certainly one thing that, i have met bill browder and he is very tenacious campaigner who is doing a lot of... he's a financier, isn't he? is that right? i think we do need to be concerned that too many people with very suspect pasts and very suspect sources of money have come into

border to determine whether they are engaged in hostile state activity we've introduced magnitsky amendment to the sanctions and money laundering act in response to the violation of human rights and we have radically stepped up our activity against illicit finance entering our country we also expelled twenty three russian diplomats who had been identified as undeclared russian intelligence officers fundamentally degrading russian intelligence capability in the u.k. the years to come and in collective solidarity and in recognition of the shared threat posed by our allies twenty eight other countries as well as nato joined us in expelling a total of over one hundred fifty russian intelligence officers the largest collective expulsion ever since then the e.u. agreed a comprehensive package to tackle hybrid threats the g seven agreed a rapid response mechanism to share intelligence on hostile state activity nato has substantially strengthened its collective tyrants including through a new cyber operations center and the u.s. has announced additional sanctions against russia for the souls attack

not able to preview what we might do but i can tell you we are looking at the situation and global magnitsky is a tool that we use to curb human rights abuses around the world afghans are suffering from a drought so severe that a quarter of a million have abandoned their homes so far this year and search of water and food the u.n. says more afghans have left their homes because of drought than war but toyah gate and the reports. when the rain stopped falling earlier this year many afghans knew the trouble was coming but they never imagined that the subsequent drought would be so bad they'd be forced to leave their homes to survive the u.n. says in the first week of september one hundred twenty thousand displaced people arrived in kalon now the provincial capital of bog province others ended up in this camp for displaced people in neighboring hereat. i'm a widow with two children who came here because we were starving destroyed our crops of wheat the land is to try to grow anything. in scarce rains in northwest afghanistan have caused the drought disaster there's a shortage of drinking water

i wonder, since the magnitsky act became so prominent of a tool for holding human rights defenders around the world accountable, would you imagine a possible litvinenko act that might sanction propagandists, or perhaps prevent western advertisers from being the primary funders of russian propaganda, for sanction russia -- or sanction russia for targeted assassinations of russians abroad, or encourage theu.s. to not allow anonymity of companies to hide russian money-laundering into the u.s. and u.k. as one of the primary destinations for the kleptocracy? lauren: you both have asked several questions. what would you want this audience to do? irina: first of all, understand that not everything is easy to achieve. after this long wait for justice, i realize you need to be patient, you have to wait for one day to happen. not without help, of course, not without understanding from people. when we came two years ago to meet people and discuss what we can do with this public inquiry report, because it was real stuff, we received a lot of support. but people have been a little b ed inow to say, no

in sanctions on turkish officials, sanctions on them under executive authority extends from the magnitskyat the same time we will work for change around the world, from cultural forces that oppose religious freedom, but the steps of pressuring will not work ultimately unless we as the american people stand up and say this is an issue we care about. as christians we are compelled to care about and advocate for religious freedom, and it is on our mind and we will put people on notice we will not let it go. we will not let go of this issue. we continue to advocate for it. the being said, we hear stories and recognize that ultimately some of the situations are beyond our control. i am going to close the session with prayer for the situations addressed by our panelists. prayer for pastor brunson, prayer to bring freedom worldwide. please join me. god, we come and ask for freedom for the north korean people, and by your hand you will allow freedom to flourish. people will be free from the clutches of the iron grip and the repressive regime that controls there now. we pray for the middle east an

his russian accountant, sergei magnitsky, was arrested and died in prison.y. we were sitting in our office and we get an e—mailfrom a person who says he has information showing who got the money that sergei magnitsky was killed over. and we were thinking to ourselves, why would someone give us that information? why would someone have that information? and it slowly emerged that he had the information because the money because he was the money managerfor the people who committed this crime. so how embarrassing could that information have been, notjust to the crime group involved, but to the russian state, the russian government? this was devastating. this information was devastating because that money was then frozen, and there are now 15 life money—laundering investigations which started with that whistle—blowing exposure. what perepilichnyy was promising was explosive stuff. documents that browder says shows the fraud was linked to corrupt russian tax officials who laundered the cash buying islands in dubai and property in moscow. what's more, he was prepar

that person turned out to be a lobbyist for the magnitsky act. telephone, father to son, son to rob, rob to don junior. >> the meeting, you were at the meeting. >> i was. >> you remember paul manafort and jared kushner at the meeting? >> i sat next to them. >> was he there at the beginning of the meeting? >> i believe he was. >> manafort there at the beginning? >> yes. >> did he stay for the entire meeting? >> that i know because he was just in front of me on the way out. >> you mentioned three candidates in 2016. >> jared kushner said he left early because he was so bored the with the meeting but that's not your recollection? >> my recollection is that we all left basically at the same time. >> including jared. >> including jared. now whether he got up and dashed out and we all lagged behind a minute or two, i don't recall. >> but he was there the majority of the meeting? >> the majority of the meeting. >> do you recall joe biden's name being mentioned? >> no. >> do you recall bernie sanders's name being mentioned? >> no. >> do you recall hillar