We hear so much about RussiaGate, I thought we could take a look at one of the overt ways that the US government manipulates the democratic process of foreign countries.
Each year the US spends around $150 million through the National Endowment for Democracy NGO to "promote democracy abroad". Here's a brief intro to NED.
The NED was the first NGO to be banned in Russia under new laws introduced in 2015. Here's an excerpt of the statement announcing the ban: "Using Russian commercial and noncommercial organisations under its control, the National Endowment for Democracy participated in work to declare the results of election campaigns illegitimate, organise political actions intended to influence decisions made by the authorities, and discredit service in Russia’s armed forces"
NED has been active in Ukraine since the 1980's (link). Their first success was the Orange revolution in 2004 (link) and their second the 2014 Maidan coup detat (link).
NED has a Democratic wing (National Democratic Institute for International Affairs) and a Republican wing (International Republican Institute). I guess this represents who's palms are first in line to be greased with the tax money.
The leader of the Democratic wing is Madelaine Albright (of "500,000 Iraqi children dying is worth it" fame)
The Republican leader is John McCain (al Qaeda's most visible friend in Washington).