Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher ( ; born June 21, 1947) is an American former politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 to 2019, representing for the last three terms of his House tenure. A member of the Republican Party, Rohrabacher was defeated by Democrat Harley Rouda in 2018 by a margin of 7.2%. During his tenure in Congress, Rohrabacher expressed strong pro-Russia and pro-Putin opinions which have raised questions about his relationship with Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. Politico dubbed him as "Putin's favorite congressman".
Early life, education, and early career Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher was born on June 21, 1947, in Coronado, California, the son of Doris M. (née Haring) and Donald Tyler Rohrabacher and had an older brother Kim (1944-2007). Rohrabacher graduated from Palos Verdes High School in Palos Verdes Estates, California, attended Los Angeles Harbor College, and earned a bachelor's degree in history at California State University, Long Beach in 1969. He received his master's degree in American Studies at the University of Southern California. After graduating, the U.S. Army ordered Rohrabacher to undergo a draft physical, but he was declared ineligible after he presented an X-ray showing a hip injury he had sustained while playing football.
While in graduate school and during the early 1970s, Rohrabacher had a side activity as a folk singer. He was also a writer for the Orange County Register.
Rohrabacher served as assistant press secretary to Ronald Reagan during his 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns. Rohrabacher then worked as a speechwriter and special assistant to President Reagan from 1981 to 1988. During his tenure at the White House, Rohrabacher played a leading role in the formulation of the Reagan Doctrine.
U.S. House of Representatives Elections Rohrabacher left the Reagan administration in 1988 to pursue Dan Lungren's recently vacated House seat. Campaigning on his ties to the president, and earning support from Iran-Contra figure Lt. Col. Oliver North, Rohrabacher won the Republican primary with a plurality of 35%. He won the general election with 64% of the vote. He twice experienced serious primary competition, in 1992 and 1998. After redistricting, he won a three-candidate primary election in 1992 with a plurality of 48%. In 1998, he won an open primary with 54% of the vote.
2008
In 2008, Rohrabacher defeated Democratic nominee Debbie Cook, 53–43%.
2010
In 2010, Rohrabacher defeated Democratic nominee Ken Arnold, 62–38%.
2012
After redistricting, Rohrabacher announced in 2012 that he would run in the newly redrawn 48th Congressional district. He said "The new 48th District is a good fit and something that will enable me to serve my constituents and the country well." He won election in the 48th district with 61% of the vote.
2014
Rohrabacher won re-election with 64% of the vote.
2016
Rohrabacher won re-election with 59% of the vote.
2018
In March 2018, CNN reported that Erik Prince, a former intern of Rohrabacher while he was freshman congressman in 1990 and very close ally of Rohrabacher, hosted a fundraiser at Prince's Virginia home with expected attendees including Oliver North on March 18, 2018. On October 12, 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Super PAC closely associated with House Speaker Paul Ryan, had passed over Rohrabacher in its initial round of broadcast television advertising across Southern California. Rohrabacher's campaign denied this, saying that CLF had spent "about $2.4 million and they have an additional $1 million in media buys scheduled" for Rohrabacher.
Democrat Harley Rouda defeated Rohrabacher on Election Day with 53.6% of the vote.
Tenure
Election fraud and conviction Rohrabacher was charged with improper use of campaign contributions in connection with a 1995 state assembly election. Rohrabacher provided some of his campaign funds to his campaign manager (and future wife), Rhonda Carmony, to promote a decoy Democratic candidate to draw away votes from another Democratic candidate. Rohrabacher was found guilty and fined $50,000."Rohrabacher Pays Fines for Not Filing Report" Gene Martinez, LA Times, latimes.com, October 26, 1996
Payment for 30-year-old screenplay On November 4, 2005, the Los Angeles Times reported that Rohrabacher was paid $23,000 for a 30-year-old screen play he had written. At issue was whether the producer paid him for the screenplay or for introductions to congressional and federal officials. Rohrabacher said that the introductions were made in good faith, were nothing that was not done regularly for legitimate causes, and that the introductions had only become an issue because of Joseph Medawar's alleged misdeeds. In May 2006, Rohrabacher announced through his press secretary that he would return the $23,000 (~$ in ). The decision was made public shortly before Medawar took responsibility in a United States District Court for bilking $3.4 million from about 50 investors.
2011 visit to Iraq During a trip to Iraq in June 2011, Rohrabacher said that when Iraq becomes a wealthy nation, it should pay back the US for all the money it had spent since the Iraq invasion. Rohrabacher also commented that he would be holding a hearing with the Sub-Committee on Oversight and Investigations into whether Iraq committed "crimes against humanity" during an attack on Camp Ashraf in April 2011. The incident left 34 residents killed and over 300 wounded. The delegation was denied access to the camp by Iraqi government, citing their sovereignty. Rohrabacher's delegation was subsequently asked to leave the country.
2012 FBI warning Rohrabacher was warned in 2012 in a secure room at the Capitol building by an agent from the FBI that Russian spies may have been trying to recruit him to act on Russia's behalf as an "agent of influence", after he met with a member of the Russian foreign ministry privately in Moscow. Following the ISIS terrorist attacks in Tehran on June 7, 2017, in which 17 civilians were killed, he suggested that the attack could be viewed as 'a good thing', and surmised that President Trump might have been behind the coordination of this terrorist attack.Rep. Dana Rohrabacher suggested that the #ISIS attacks on #Iran could be viewed as 'a good thing.', , Retrieved June 9, 2017 An article in The Atlantic suggested that there was serious concern in the State Department of ties between Rohrabacher and the Russian government.Rosie Gray, July 18, 2017, The Atlantic, Russian Anti-Sanctions Campaign Turned to California Congressman: U.S. diplomats were concerned about Russian outreach to House Republican Dana Rohrabacher while on a trip to Moscow last year. , Retrieved July 18, 2017, "...Rohrabacher's 2016 Moscow trip raised eyebrows among U.S. officials, particularly at the State Department..."
Jack Wu In June 2015, Rohrabacher released a statement accusing former treasurer of his reelection committee, Jack Wu, of embezzling more than $170,000 from his campaign. Rohrabacher's attorney, Charles H. Bell Jr., stated that the congressman had filed criminal charges against Wu with the Orange County district attorney and state attorney general.
2016 consideration for Secretary of State Following the election of Donald Trump in 2016, Rohrabacher was on the shortlist for Secretary of State along with Mitt Romney and eventual pick Rex Tillerson.
Committee assignments
Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Chair) Committee on Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
Rohrabacher chaired the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of the House Science Committee from 1997 until January 2005; he received a two-year waiver to serve beyond the six-year term limit.
As a senior member of the International Relations Committee, Rohrabacher led the effort to deny Most Favored Nation trading status to the People's Republic of China, citing that nation's dismal human rights record and opposition to democracy. His subcommittee assignments were East Asia and Pacific, and Middle East and South Asia.
Caucus memberships Congressional Cannabis Caucus Congressional Human Rights Caucus United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus Congressional Taiwan Caucus Sportsmen's Caucus Freedom Caucus House Baltic Caucus
Foreign and security policy positions In foreign policy, Rohrabacher supported withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan, called for Trump to punish Turkish President Erdoğan on embassy violence, sided with Russia in the Russia–Georgia war, and gave a qualified defense of the annexation of Crimea in 2014.Jonathan Weisman, March 28, 2014, The New York Times, Kremlin Finds a Defender in Congress , Retrieved August 1, 2017, "...There is some logic to Mr. Rohrabacher's stalwart defense of the Kremlin's actions. The people of Crimea..."
Russia Rohrabacher has expressed strong pro-Russia and pro-Putin opinions which have raised questions about his relationship with Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. Politico and others have dubbed him "Putin's favorite congressman".
Early in Rohrabacher's congressional career in 1990 or 1991, KGB agent and deputy mayor of Saint Petersburg Vladimir Putin and two other Russians entered Rohrabacher's congressional office in Washington, D.C. In a 2013 interview, Rohrabacher asserted that he and Putin later became close friends.
According to Erik Prince, Prince, as an intern on Rohrabacher's staff, travelled around the world on fact-finding missions to support Rohrabacher's interests.
Rohrabacher called the Russian banker Aleksandr Torshin, a Putin ally, "sort of the conservatives' favorite Russian".
On September 8, 2008, at a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee meeting, Rohrabacher argued that the Georgians had initiated a recent military confrontation in the ongoing Russia–Georgia war.
In 2012, the FBI warned Rohrabacher that his support for Russia's interests was allowing Russia to cultivate him for its purposes.
In February 2013, Rohrabacher gave a speech urging the right to self-determination for the Baloch people in Pakistan at an UNPO conference in London.
In April 2014, he tweeted that "If majority of people legally residing in Alaska want to be part of Russia then it's OK with me."
In April 2016, Rohrabacher and a member of his staff, Paul Behrends, traveled to Russia and returned with Yuri Chaika's confidential talking points memo about incriminating information on Democratic donors. The talking points paper used at the Trump Tower meeting on June 9, 2016 by Natalia Veselnitskaya was very similar to the document Rohrabacher had obtained from Chaika in April.
Rohrabacher is known for his longtime friendship with Putin and for his defense of "the Russian point of view". On June 15, 2016, then-House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told a group of Republicans, "'There's two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump. Swear to God'". Then-House Speaker Paul Ryan ended the conversation by saying "'No leaks. This is how we know we're a real family here'". The Republicans present were sworn to secrecy. Brendan Buck, counselor to Paul Ryan, initially denied these reports, but was then told that The Washington Post had a recording. After the recording was leaked by the Post in May 2017, McCarthy said the comment was intended as a joke.