{"id":1363508,"date":"2022-03-07T23:27:14","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T04:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1363508"},"modified":"2022-03-07T23:27:22","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T04:27:22","slug":"democrat-sen-cortez-masto-took-thousands-from-nordstream-2-russian-pipeline-lobbyist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-sen-cortez-masto-took-thousands-from-nordstream-2-russian-pipeline-lobbyist\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrat Sen. Cortez Masto Took Thousands from Nordstream 2 Russian Pipeline Lobbyist"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrat-sen-cortez-masto-took-thousands-from-nordstream-2-russian-pipeline-lobbyist%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1363508&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), a Democrat who has consistently opposed measures to make America energy independent, took thousands in donations from lobbyists for the Russian Nordstream 2 pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>As gas prices surged to the most expensive ever recorded on Monday, the revelations about Cortez Masto could severely jeopardize her 2022 reelection campaign. Gas prices on Monday soared in Nevada to at least $4.590 per gallon \u2014 the second-highest in the nation behind Hawaii \u2014 and even as this happened, the Democrat senator has regularly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/12\/04\/report-nord-stream-2-lobbyist-gives-senate-democrats-maximum-donations\/\">opposed<\/a>\u00a0initiatives that would reduce gas prices and increase American energy independence.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>For instance, Masto has opposed the Keystone Pipeline, drilling on federal lands, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, expanding natural gas, and refused to prevent a ban on fracking.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Cortez Masto, who is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/12\/22\/gop-poll-republicans-adam-laxalt-herschel-walker-leading-democrat-opponents-senate-battlegrounds\/\">running<\/a> for reelection against\u00a0Republican candidate and former Nevada attorney general Adam Laxalt, has also taken money from Nordstream 2 pipeline lobbyists. The pipeline runs counter to American energy independence by connecting Russian oil to European markets, thus reducing American energy exports\u2013and is one of the reasons why, according to the Ukrainians, the Russians have invaded Ukraine. Former President Donald Trump, for his entire administration, blocked the Russian pipeline, but President Joe Biden opened it up in his first year in office \u2014 and now seems to be paying the consequences for doing so.<\/p>\n<p>Cortez Masto is directly financially connected to the whole thing through campaign donations. According to FEC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/?data_type=processed&#038;committee_id=C00575548&#038;contributor_name=Vincent+Roberti&#038;two_year_transaction_period=2022&#038;two_year_transaction_period=2020&#038;two_year_transaction_period=2018&#038;line_number=F3-11AI\">filings<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lda.senate.gov\/filings\/public\/filing\/search\/?registrant=roberti&#038;registrant_country=&#038;registrant_ppb_country=&#038;client=nord+stream&#038;client_state=&#038;client_country=&#038;client_ppb_country=&#038;lobbyist=&#038;lobbyist_covered_position=&#038;lobbyist_conviction_disclosure=&#038;lobbyist_conviction_date_range_from=&#038;lobbyist_conviction_date_range_to=&#038;report_period=&#038;report_year=&#038;report_dt_posted_from=&#038;report_dt_posted_to=&#038;report_amount_reported_min=&#038;report_amount_reported_max=&#038;report_issue_area_description=&#038;affiliated_organization=&#038;affiliated_organization_country=&#038;foreign_entity=&#038;foreign_entity_country=&#038;foreign_entity_ppb_country=&#038;foreign_entity_ownership_percentage_min=&#038;foreign_entity_ownership_percentage_max=&#038;search=search\">disclosures<\/a>, Vincent Roberti donated the legal maximum of $5,800 to Cortez Masto in March of 2021.\u00a0Roberti <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/federal-lobbying\/lobbyists\/summary?cycle=2019&#038;id=Y0000040430L\">represents<\/a> many global companies, such as Valero Energy. Roberti Global has disclosed $8.5 million in fees lobbying for the Nordstream 2 pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>Cortez Masto is among some of the Democrat Senators who have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reviewjournal.com\/news\/politics-and-government\/nevada\/heres-why-nevadans-wont-see-relief-from-a-federal-gas-tax-holiday-2533621\/\">proposed<\/a> a federal gas tax holiday instead of reducing dependence on foreign energy. Some believe a federal tax holiday will have little impact in Nevada. Las Vegas Review-Journal reported:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>That\u2019s because a state law in place since at least 1973 and modified in 1997 raises Nevada\u2019s fuel tax by the exact amount of any reduction in federal levies.<\/p>\n<p>The law,\u00a0NRS 365.185\u00a0is clear: \u201cThis (excise) tax (on motor vehicle fuel) must be imposed and will increase if the tax collected by the Federal Government pursuant to the provisions of 26 U.S.C. \u00a7 4081 or any other tax collected by the Federal Government relating to motor vehicle fuel is reduced or discontinued in whole or in part. The amount of the tax so imposed by this State must be equal to the amount by which the federal tax is reduced.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"rj-ins-obj\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>That means a proposal to reduce the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon sought by senators as a means of reducing gas prices that have been driven up by inflation wouldn\u2019t change taxes in the Silver State.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>Laxalt has criticized Cortez Mastio\u2019s policies, which he claimed have increased energy prices for Nevadans.\u00a0\u201cWhile Nevadans struggle to pay the costs to heat their homes, purchase groceries, and fill their gas tanks, Catherine Cortez Masto\u2019s assault on America\u2019s domestic energy production has driven costs up,\u201d Laxalt continued in a press release:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Prices were already going up before the Ukraine crisis and are likely to rise even further, but Cortez Masto has put green politics before the people. Independence from Russian oil and gas through American energy independence is an economic and national security imperative and Cortez Masto\u2019s decision to handicap our production at home empowers Russia and hurts families across our state. I call on Catherine Cortez Masto to immediately reverse her opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline, support drilling and hydraulic fracturing on federal lands, and end her senseless opposition to exploring energy resources in ANWR.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>According to polling,\u00a0Laxalt holds a four-point <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/12\/22\/gop-poll-republicans-adam-laxalt-herschel-walker-leading-democrat-opponents-senate-battlegrounds\/\">lead<\/a> over Cortez Masto (46 \u2013 42 percent). Republicans are eyeing Cortez Masto\u2019s seat as a potential flip in November. With Biden\u2019s approval rating sluggish in Nevada, Cortez Masto is struggling to differentiate herself from Biden with a similar record on energy policy.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Wendell Huseb\u00f8 on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WendellHusebo?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/gettr.com\/user\/wendellhusebo\">Gettr<\/a>\u00a0@WendellHuseb\u00f8<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), a Democrat who has consistently opposed measures to make America energy independent, took thousands in donations from lobbyists for the Russian Nordstream 2 pipeline. As<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1363508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1363508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1363508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1363508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1363508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}