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Casey Michel

Casey Michel is the author of Foreign Agents: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World. Previous work includes his book American Kleptocracy, and his writing has appeared in Foreign Affairs, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, Politico, and The Washington Post, among others.

All Articles
March 1, 2022
Casey Michel
How Belarus Became Putin’s Lackey
The Kremlin propped up Aleksandr Lukashenko after Belarusians tried to oust him from office. He’s now dragged his nation into the Ukraine invasion.
February 22, 2022
Casey Michel
Vladimir Putin’s Empire of Delusions
In a lengthy screed, the Russian dictator made it clear that his ambitions are to restore his nation’s status as a colonizer of Europe.
February 15, 2022
Casey Michel
How the West Botched Ukraine
It wasn’t the drive to bring security to Europe that led to the brink of war. It was providing corrupt autocrats with secure havens for their stolen loot.
January 26, 2022
Casey Michel
Azerbaijani Kleptocrats Have Been Getting Their Money’s Worth in Washington for a Long Time
Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar’s not the only lawmaker illicitly involved with the regime, he’s just the one who (maybe) got caught.
January 12, 2022
Casey Michel
The End of America’s Kazakhstan Delusion
Long sold as an island of stability in a sea of chaos, the nation has collapsed into misrule, requiring swift action against its kleptocratic rulers.
December 27, 2021
Casey Michel
It’s Put Up or Shut Up Time in the Fight Against Global Corruption
Biden ended 2021 advancing some much needed measures to battle foreign kleptocrats. Next year, he can win the war.
November 4, 2021
Casey Michel
Biden’s Plan to Save the IRS Is Good for Everyone but Wealthy Tax Cheats
Biden’s bill will revive a moribund and underfunded agency, cut down on corruption, and bring in a ton of revenue.
October 18, 2021
Casey Michel
American Law Firms Are Enabling Foreign Kleptocrats
Despite what you may have heard, the Pandora Papers did not let the United States off the hook for facilitating global corruption.
September 6, 2021
Casey Michel
The Traitor Robert E. Lee Finally Gets His Just Deserts
A gargantuan monument to the rebel general will come down in the capital of the Confederacy.
August 2, 2021
Casey Michel
Russian Oligarchs Are Bludgeoning Western Media With Their Wealth
A book about Vladimir Putin has prompted several lawsuits by his billionaire cronies, including Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich. It’s part of a worrying trend.
May 24, 2021
Casey Michel
Will Europe Finally Stand Up to Belarus’s Plane-Hijacking Bully?
The forced landing of a Ryanair flight and arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich is President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s most brazen dare yet to the EU.
March 30, 2021
Casey Michel
The Republican Poseurs Who Claim to Be True Texans
Dan Rodimer and Chip Roy are just the latest carpetbaggers who have moved to the Lone Star State to capitalize on the GOP’s Trumpian turn.
March 12, 2021
Casey Michel
An Honest History of Texas Begins and Ends With White Supremacy
One Texas Republican state House member wants to create a “patriotic” education project to celebrate the Lone Star State—and whitewash its ugly past.
December 23, 2020
Casey Michel
How to Make Kleptocrats Fear America Again
Joe Biden might be the perfect president to restore America’s standing as a champion against foreign corruption.
September 30, 2020
Casey Michel
Ivanka Trump’s Starring Role in Her Father’s Financial Troubles
If the president’s tax shenanigans land him afoul of the law, the first daughter could go down with him.
August 31, 2020
Casey Michel
The “Oath Keepers” Are Today’s Blackshirts
In the Obama era, they resisted “presidential tyranny.” Now they want to help Trump crack American skulls in the streets.
August 10, 2020
Casey Michel
Alexander Lukashenko’s Belarusian Dictatorship Is Going Down in Flames
The former Soviet republic has exploded into unrest after its most recent sham election, and there may be no going back.
July 7, 2020
Casey Michel
The Left’s Deafening Silence on China’s Ethnic Cleansing
Anti-imperialist leftists can’t afford to cede this issue to centrist Democrats and the Trumpist right.
March 24, 2020
Casey Michel
Could Trump Spark a New Balkan Ethnic War?
As the coronavirus racks the globe, White House lackeys and lobbyists are converging on the former Yugoslavia and reopening old wounds.
March 9, 2020
Casey Michel
The Kleptocrat Next Door
Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc has been sanctioned by Trump’s State Department. So why is he now holed up in the U.S.?

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