‘They’re baaaaack!’

“While [the subsidiary’s] business in Russia is a very small part of Koch,” Koch explained in a statement in March, “we will not walk away from our employees there or hand over these manufacturing facilities to the Russian government so it can operate and benefit from them (which is what the Wall Street Journal has reported they would do).”

The statement added, “Doing so would only put our employees there at greater risk and do more harm than good.”

Not good enough.

By maintaining a business presence in Russia, even despite the invasion of Ukraine, Koch supports an all-out assault on democracy, certain corporate journalists argue in response. Some of these journalists have even taken it upon themselves to pressure U.S. lawmakers into saying whether they’ll accept future political donations from Koch.

If you think it’s weird Koch is back in the news after being mostly a nonissue between the years 2015 and 2020, it’s even stranger certain members of the press have chosen to focus on this one group exclusively while ignoring all the many, many Democratic-friendly U.S. organizations that likewise have business interests based in Russia.

“Henry Cuellar becomes latest Democrat to distance himself from Koch Industries over company’s Russia ties,” CNBC reported in a carefully misleading headline (“Russia ties” is a strange way to describe two U.S.-owned manufacturing facilities based in Russia).

Its author, Brian Schwartz, has made it his personal mission to ask members of Congress who’ve received Koch political contributions whether they support or disavow the organization.

“We’ve reached out to offices of [Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California] and [Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky] to see where they stand on Koch money. No response,” Schwartz, who is keeping a running tally, announced on social media.

He added, “We’ve also reached out to [Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s] office to see where she stands on members taking Koch money. No response.”

“Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar is no longer accepting campaign contributions from Koch Industries after the conglomerate decided to remain in Russia despite the ongoing war with Ukraine,” CNBC bragged elsewhere in an online news report.

It adds, “After publication of this story, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., told CNBC that he too was no longer accepting campaign contributions from the PAC as long as the company continues to do business in Russia. Costa, who has received $2,500 from the PAC this election cycle, is the fourth Democratic lawmaker to pledge that he’s rejecting future contributions from Koch Industries.”

Elsewhere, the U.S. edition of the Guardian reported, “Pressure mounts on Koch Industries to halt business in Russia.”

Funny. Where do you suppose this “pressure” is coming from?

Earlier, on March 16, CBS News published an online report, “As hundreds of major U.S. companies exit Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Koch Industries is staying put.”

The report added, “The industrial conglomerate — the second-largest privately owned business in America, with $115 billion in annual revenue — is among those defying public pressure and continuing to operate manufacturing plants and sell products across Russia while remaining mum on that nation’s relentless assault on Ukrainian cities.”

Though the CBS story was updated on March 17, it still claimed Koch remained “mum” regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This is not true.

Koch released a statement on March 16, the day CBS originally published its report, condemning the invasion. More specifically, its statement described Russia’s actions as “horrific, “abhorrent,” and “an affront to humanity.”

At the New Yorker, reporter Jane Mayer, who is mainly responsible for the invention of the Koch bogeyman narrative, said, “Koch Industries has finally explained its position: it would rather keep doing business in Russia than heed [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s] pleas to stop fueling Putin’s war machine.”

Mayer, who also helped spearhead the smear of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, added, “Given how small Koch says its Russian operation is, hard not to see this as purely symbolic, sending the message that all Koch’s talk of rights and liberty means nothing. Making money is what they value.”

Meanwhile, in Congress, Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Ron Wyden of Oregon released a joint statement knocking Koch for refusing to shutter its business activities in Russia.

“Koch Industries is shamefully continuing to do business in Putin’s Russia and putting their profits ahead of defending democracy. The noxious stench of Trump still hangs over Koch Industries,” their statement read.

The late Democratic Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who railed against the Koch brothers by name from the floor of the U.S. Senate, would be proud.

Absent from the criticisms of Koch are mentions of the other U.S. companies with business ties in Russia.

There is no mention, for example, of International Paper, whose political action committee has donated $97,000 to congressional Democrats thus far in 2022, including $5,000 to Schumer, $5,000 to Wyden, $5,000 to Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and $5,000 to Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. There is no mention of the Ball Corporation, the political action committee of which has donated $60,000 to congressional Democrats this year, and there is likewise no mention of PPG Industries, which has donated $17,500 to congressional Democrats thus far in 2022. CBS hasn’t done an extensive piece on Ball Corporation’s business activities in Russia. CNBC isn’t running down lawmakers to see if they disavow International Paper. Mayer almost certainly hasn’t even heard of PPG Industries.

I’m sure it’s just an oversight that Koch’s most venomous critics have had precisely nothing to say about these other U.S. companies and their “ties to Russia.”

On March 28, Koch announced it would contribute $1.85 million to the humanitarian response in Ukraine.