Joe Biden received $4,000 in campaign donations from a lobbyist with Russian ties in October 2020, violating his own promise not to take money from lobbyists and raising eyebrows about the timing of the donation. The gift, from McLarty Associates managing partner Richard Burt, came just months before Biden declined to sanction a company connected to those for which Burt lobbies, which is building a controversial oil pipeline between Russia and Germany and whose CEO is a close ally of Vladimir Putin. The State Department has said the company, Nord Stream 2, is engaging in sanctionable activities but has not enforced those sanctions, citing U.S. national interests. (Burt is lobbying for five energy companies working on the project, according to his disclosures.) FEC records show Burt also donated $10,000 to left-wing political action committee Unite The County in March 2020. The DNC said it returned the donations after the New York Post reached out for comment.