New US Intelligence Director Accused of Receiving Money from Plahotniuc

New US National Intelligence Director Richard Grenell, recently appointed by Trump to this position, is accused of receiving money from a fugitive Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc. Grenell is accused of providing advice to the oligarch Plahotniuc, who is now on the run, and hid this information, anticoruptie.md reports. Pro Publica writes that in 2016 Grenell also wrote several articles in defense of the Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc but did not disclose information that he was paid for it, documents and witness testimonies speak of  this. Grenell did not report this information to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). This body requires US citizens working for foreign politicians to report this. Grenell’s lawyer said that "Richard wasn’t paid for these articles, he simply expressed his opinion and wrote hundreds of articles." We are talking about articles in the Washington Examiner and the Washington Times, in which Grenell defends Plahotniuc, accused of involvement in bank fraud. Pro Publica also notes that it is not clear whether these articles were part of Grenell's paid consulting work for Plahotniuc, but emphasizes that even unpaid work could still require disclosures under FARA law if it was ordered by a foreign politician. Grenell is known as one of Donald Trump's most loyal supporters. As ambassador to Germany, Grenell caused a real diplomatic scandal last August. He criticized Berlin for a low defense budget, threatened to withdraw US troops and transfer to Poland.