Ruling party official calls McCain Institute’s Laura Thornton “deep state operative”

Levan Machavariani, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and Deputy Chair of the parliamentary faction of the ruling party, on Wednesday claimed Laura Thornton, the Senior Director of the Global Democracy Programs at the McCain Institute, was a “deep state” operative.

Machavariani’s comments came after Thornton, who has been associated with the radical opposition in Georgia, recently shared a photo of a protest rally in Georgia on social media, stating that “the last bastions now are the media and civil society”.

In his remarks, Machavariani noted that Thornton had a highly destructive attitude toward Georgia.

“Laura Thornton is directly serving the deep state. This is absolutely clear as President Trump himself opposed the deep state. We have all seen how she insults her own country’s President”, the ruling party official said.

“Laura Thornton has a highly destructive attitude towards Georgia. A few months ago, when the protests had just begun, her first statement was that she was deeply disappointed that there were no casualties. Before that, she authored the guideline handed over to the opposition, which outlined how the protests should escalate into a civil confrontation”, Machavariani continued.

Machavariani further highlighted that Thornton was openly hostile to Georgia.

“Those who follow her advice are, of course, acting as local agents. It is also noteworthy that [Salome] Zourabichvili is a scholarship recipient of Thornton’s organisation”, he concluded.