Today in Tampa, third-party candidate Jill Stein is expected to express support for the Uhuru 3, three individuals facing federal changes for a “malign influence campaign,” which consists of conspiring to covertly sow discord in U.S. society, spread Russian propaganda, and interfere illegally in U.S. elections. Stein participated in a press conference for the Uhuru 3, is expected to attend the trial, and will host a panel discussion tonight. She has previously expressed support for the Uhuru 3 in a campaign video.  

Engaging with foreign assets is a pattern for Stein. Previously, the Senate Intelligence Committee investigated links between Stein’s 2016 campaign and Russia’s efforts to interfere in the election, while an indictment brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller found that the Kremlin’s Internet Research Agency had used social media to promote her candidacy. In 2015, Stein attended a gala in support of Russian propaganda television network, RT, where she sat at the head table alongside Vladimir Putin and Michael Flynn. Stein has repeatedly parroted Kremlin views and posted a campaign video from Moscow’s Red Square with language “ripped from Putin’s talking points.” 

Despite her ties to the Kremlin and Putin, the GOP has still embraced Jill Stein as a spoiler candidate. Donald Trump praised Jill Stein, saying he likes her “very much.”  Additionally, the GOP has been helping Stein with ballot access in an attempt to prop up her spoiler candidacy. 

In response DNC Spokesperson Matt Corridoni released the following statement: 

“Jill Stein is a useful idiot for Russia. After parroting Kremlin talking points and being propped up by bad actors in 2016 she’s at it again. Jill Stein won’t become president, but her spoiler candidacy—that both the GOP and Putin have previously shown interest in—can help decide who wins. A vote for Stein is a vote for Trump.”

ICYMI: The Bulwark: ‘Useful Idiot for Russia’: DNC Decides to Go Off on Jill Stein

By: Marc Caputo 

• On Monday, the DNC labeled the Green party presidential nominee a “useful idiot for Russia,” citing Stein’s upcoming event in Tampa in which she’s expected to lend her support to three members of a black leftist group federally charged for allegedly acting as malign foreign agents of Vladimir Putin’s government.
• Stein’s candidacy in 2016, along with Russian meddling, helped Donald Trump win the presidency that year. 
• According to her website, Stein plans to attend a fundraiser and panel discussion in Tampa after the opening day of the federal trial of three members of the African People’s Socialist Party, also known as the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement. Three of its members, nicknamed the “Uhuru 3,” were indicted in April along with another U.S. citizen and three Russian nationals for allegedly working in a “malign influence campaign” on behalf of the foreign power.
• Shortly after the indictment was issued, Stein rallied for the Uhuru 3 along with its leader, Omali Yeshitela […]
• Stein’s critics have long accused her of having affinity for, if not ties to, Russia. They note that she echoed talking points from Russia when it invaded Ukraine in 2021. The Senate Intelligence Committee investigated Stein after she was photographed in 2015 sitting at a table with Putin at a tenth anniversary celebration for Russia Today, the state-run propaganda network (since renamed just “RT”).
•  On Sunday, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fired off an Instagram post criticizing both the candidate and her party for only running in presidential elections, where the Green party is more of a spoiler for Democrats.
• “If you run for years in a row, and your party has not grown, has not added city council seats, down ballot seats and state electives, that’s bad leadership. And that to me is what’s upsetting,” Ocasio Cortez said, according to Newsweek.