A pair of senior advisers to Donald Trump's 2016 campaign are lobbying on behalf of a gas company with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
American Ethane Co. last month hired Turnberry Solutions to lobby on unspecified "international trade and energy matters," according to a disclosure filed on Tuesday.
This isn't AEC's first lobbying contract, but it is their first with Turnberry. The Houston-based company has previously held contracts with Bold Strategies, Sander Resources and BGR Group.
AEC, which is the country's largest producer of ethane gas, lists two Russian billionaires as owners. Konstantin Nikolaev, who holds a 56 percent stake, is allegedly both a member of Putin's inner circle and a financial backer of Maria Butina, the alleged Russian spy who last year pled guilty to engaging in conspiracy against the U.S. Andrey Kunatbaev, who owns 30 percent of AEC, is a former deputy in the State Duma, Russia's lower legislative chamber. Alexander Voloshin, former chief of staff to Putin, reportedly owns a additional "secret" portion of the company.
Working on behalf of AEC are Turnberry co-founder Jason Osborne and lobbyist Ryan O'Dwyer. Both worked as senior aides to Trump's 2016 campaign. Osborne is a former lobbyist at Avenue Strategies who left sometime after co-founder Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager, faced criticism over his failure to register as a lobbyist. Turnberry is named after one of Trump's golf resorts.
During a 2017 trip to China, President Trump praised an AEC trade deal to sell ethane to China, saying that the $26-billion contract would promote "American prosperity and trade" and create "thousands of American jobs."
