TBT: 10 Things Dan Coats Will Miss Now That He’s Banned From Russia

Current Intelligence director made a top ten list after being sanctioned by Moscow in 2014

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats was sanctioned by Russia while serving as a senator in 2014. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats was sanctioned by Russia while serving as a senator in 2014. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Posted July 19, 2018 at 4:59pm

When Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats served as a Republican senator from Indiana, he was one of several officials sanctioned by Russia.

At the time, Coats borrowed a tradition from fellow Hoosier, comedian David Letterman, in offering up a top ten list of things he would miss after President Vladimir Putin banned him from Russia, as Heard on the Hill featured when it happened in May 2014.

10. I won’t be able to complete my granddaughter’s Russian doll collection

9. I won’t be able to compare the Bolshoi Opera House with the Palladium in Carmel

8. I’ll never learn the Russian name for our dog Hoosier

7. I won’t be able to ski on the slushy slopes of Sochi

6. I won’t be able to buy Marsha a Russian mink coat for Christmas

5. I won’t be able to counsel Duma members on how to say no to a President

4. I’ll have to cancel my tennis match with Maria Sharapova

3. I won’t be able to compare Russiaville, IN with Russia

2. I won’t be able to see if borscht really does taste just like pork tenderloin

And the number one thing Coats will miss after being sanctioned by Russia …

1. Our summer vacation in Siberia is a no go