Some context: Rohrabacher, who is of German and English descent, was born June 21, 1947, in Coronado, California, the son of Doris M. (nee Haring) and Donald Tyler Rohrabacher. He attended elementary school locally, and during his college years, he lived in Sunset Beach. 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.
In terms of his positions, Rohrabacher voted to repeal Obamacare, disputes evidence of man-made global warming, is a staunch opponent of illegal immigration, and favors the legalization of marijuana. In foreign policy, he supported withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan, called for Trump to punish Turkish President Erdogan on embassy violence, sided with Russia in the Russia-Georgia war, gave a qualified defense of the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and supports cooperating with Russia in Syria. On May 17, 2017, the Washington Post reported that a month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stated "There's two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump. Swear to God." Brendan Buck, counselor to Paul Ryan, initially denied these reports but later, after being informed that the Post would cite a recording as evidence, said that McCarthy had been joking. He was warned in 2012 by the FBI that Russian spies may have been trying to recruit him to act on Russia's behalf, 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 innocent 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. An article in The Atlantic suggested that there was serious concern in the State Department of ties between Rohrabacher and the Russian government. On November 21, 2017, the New York Times reported that Rohrabacher had come under scrutiny from special counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate Intelligence Committee for his close ties to the Kremlin. Rohrabacher has drawn public criticism for some of his positions. His controversial statements include the conspiracy theory claims, first promoted by the politically-biased conspiracy theory website Infowars, that Democrats secretly organized the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville to provoke the violence by the alt-right (which led to the murder of one anti-Nazi protester) in order to discredit President Trump. Rochabacher has also consistently supported Russian interests in Congress and has defended Trump's controversial remarks regarding Russia.
Can you tell if any action was taken about the serious concern?
A: the New York Times reported that Rohrabacher had come under scrutiny from special counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate Intelligence Committee for his close ties to the Kremlin.
Some context: Paul Davis Ryan Jr. (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician serving as the 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2015. He was the Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States, running alongside former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Ryan also has been the U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district since 1999. He was previously chair of the House Ways and Means Committee from January 3 to October 29, 2015, and, before that, chair of the House Budget Committee from 2011 to 2015.
Ryan was first elected to the House in 1998, winning the 1st District seat of Republican Mark Neumann, a two-term incumbent who had vacated his seat to make an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate. Ryan won the Republican primary over 29-year-old pianist Michael J. Logan of Twin Lakes, and the general election against Democrat Lydia Spottswood. This made him the second-youngest member of the House. Reelected eight times, Ryan has never received less than 55 percent of the vote. He defeated Democratic challenger Jeffrey C. Thomas in the 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006 elections. In the 2008 election, Ryan defeated Democrat Marge Krupp. In the 2010 general election, he defeated Democrat John Heckenlively and Libertarian Joseph Kexel. In 2012, under Wisconsin election law, Ryan was allowed to run concurrently for vice president and for Congress and was not allowed to remove his name from the Congressional ballot after being nominated for the vice presidency. He faced Democratic nominee Rob Zerban. As of July 25, 2012, Ryan had over $5.4 million in his congressional campaign account, more than any other House member. He was reelected with 55 percent of his district's vote and 44 percent of the vote in his hometown, Janesville. Zerban again challenged Ryan in the 2014 House election. Ryan won with 63 percent of his district's vote. In the 2016 Republican primary election, Ryan faced businessman Paul Nehlen, who had been endorsed by Sarah Palin. Because of Nehlen's support for Trump, Trump publicly thanked him on Twitter and later told The Washington Post that Nehlen was "running a very good campaign", even though he did not endorse him. On August 5, 2016, Trump endorsed Ryan's re-election after pressure from fellow Republican leaders. In the August 9, 2016 primary election, Ryan overwhelmingly defeated Nehlen, taking over 84 percent of the vote. In the November general election, Ryan faced Democrat Ryan Solen and won with 65 percent of his district's vote.
Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
A:
In 2012, under Wisconsin election law, Ryan was allowed to run concurrently for vice president and for Congress