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On August 5, 2018, precisely forty-four years after the collapse of the Nixon Presidency, another President, Donald Trump, made his own public admission. In one of a series of early-morning tweets, Trump addressed a meeting that his son Donald, Jr., held with a Russian lawyer affiliated with the Russian government. “This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics - and it went nowhere,” he wrote. “I did not know about it!”
The tweet contains several crucial pieces of information. First, it is a clear admission that Donald Trump, Jr.,’s original statement about the case was inaccurate enough to be considered a lie. He had said the meeting was with an unknown person who “might have information helpful to the campaign,” and that this person “primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children.” This false statement was, according to his legal team, dictated by the President himself. There was good reason to mislead the American people about that meeting. Based on reporting—at the time and now—of the President’s admission, it was a conscious effort by the President’s son and two of his closest advisers to work with affiliates of the Russian government to obtain information that might sway the U.S. election in Trump’s favor. In short, it was, at minimum, a case of attempted collusion. The tweet indicates that Trump’s defense will continue to be that this attempt at collusion failed—“it went nowhere”—and that, even if it had succeeded, it would have been “totally legal and done all the time.” It is unclear why, if the meeting was entirely proper, it was important for the President to declare “I did not know about it!” or to tell the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, to “stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now.”
The President’s Sunday-morning tweet should be seen as a turning point. It doesn’t teach us anything new—most students of the case already understand what Donald Trump, Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner knew about that Trump Tower meeting. But it ends any possibility of an alternative explanation. We can all move forward understanding that there is a clear fact pattern about which there is no dispute:
•The President’s son and top advisers knowingly met with individuals connected to the Russian government, hoping to obtain dirt on their political opponent.
•Documents stolen from the Democratic National Committee and members of the Clinton campaign were later used in an overt effort to sway the election.
•When the Trump Tower meeting was uncovered, the President instructed his son and staff to lie about the meeting, and told them precisely which lies to use.
•The President is attempting to end the investigation into this meeting and other instances of attempted collusion between his campaign staff and representatives of the Russian government.
It was possible, just days ago, to believe—with an abundance of generosity toward the President and his team—that the meeting was about adoption, went nowhere, and was overblown by the Administration’s enemies. No longer. The open questions are now far more narrow: Was this a case of successful or only attempted collusion? Is attempted collusion a crime? What legal and moral responsibilities did the President and his team have when they realized that the proposed collusion was underway when the D.N.C. e-mails were leaked and published? And, crucially, what did the President know before the election, after it, and when he instructed his son to lie?
Earlier on Sunday, Trump wrote another tweet, one that repeated a common refrain: journalists are the enemy of the people. “I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People,” it read. In a way, he did provide a great service. He allowed us to move away from a no-longer-relevant debate about whether or not he and his campaign had done anything wrong. Our nation can now focus on another question: What do we do when a President has openly admitted to attempted collusion, lying, and a coverup?
Collusion isn't mentioned in the law but CONSPIRING is. The Trump bunch CONSPIRED with the Russians to obtain, hack, the Clinton campaign emails. Hacking of the emails is theft.
How many times has Trump said, ‘No collusion’. At least one source reports ‘140 times”. I guess if you repeat something often enough many people will believe it is true, whether it is true or not. This is basically Trumps response any time Russia is mentioned including the House and Senate Intelligence Committee report on Russian interference.
Of course, this all deals with Trumps closest campaign advisors seeking Russian ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton.
We know that Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort attended the meeting knowing it was with people at least portraying themselves as politically connected Russians promising intelligence on Hillary Clinton.
After the elections Hope Hicks states there was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity. “It never happened” she said.
Later, Sarah Huckabee Sander states, “This is a non-story because to the best of our knowledge no contact took place”.
Later, Donald Trump Jr. says, “I’m sure I met with Russians but none that were set up and certainly none where I was representing the campaign”.
That then gave way to “there was a planned meeting, but it was about adoption and I was only there as a favor to a friend”.
Now it is clear several people close to the president played word games or simply lied.
Now Michel Cohen, Trumps personal lawyer and confidant since 2006, appears willing to link Trump to advance knowledge of the meeting with Russians, at Trump tower, during the presidential campaign.
Cohen is apparently ready to testify that president Trump had prior knowledge of the meeting, something that his son has denied under oath. Cohen alleges he was present along with several others when Trump was informed of the Russians offer by Trump Jr. Cohen then says Trump approved of the meeting.
Now finally Trump admits "“This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics - and it went nowhere,”
The general defense of Trump seems to have moved from ‘it never happened’ to ‘what if it did?’ and now finally to "this was a meeting" by the president himself. Rudy Giuliani, Trumps current lawyer, states he doesn’t even know if collusion is a crime. There is no anti-collusion law. There are however laws against conspiracy, campaign law, obstruction of justice, and campaign finance abuse.
It appears the current story is, maybe there was collusion with a hostile foreign power but it is not a crime. Anyway, president Trump was “not at the meeting” according to Giuliani. There is much to be inferred here.
At every stage, the Trump organization has lied. When their lie is exposed, the story changes with another lie. When that is exposed, the story changes yet again.
How many times has Trump said, ‘No collusion’. At least one source reports ‘140 times”. I guess if you repeat something often enough many people will believe it is true, whether it is true or not. This is basically Trumps response any time Russia is mentioned including the House and Senate Intelligence Committee report on Russian interference.
Of course, this all deals with Trumps closest campaign advisors seeking Russian ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton.
We know that Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort attended the meeting knowing it was with people at least portraying themselves as politically connected Russians promising intelligence on Hillary Clinton.
After the elections Hope Hicks states there was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity. “It never happened” she said.
Later, Sarah Huckabee Sander states, “This is a non-story because to the best of our knowledge no contact took place”.
Later, Donald Trump Jr. says, “I’m sure I met with Russians but none that were set up and certainly none where I was representing the campaign”.
That then gave way to “there was a planned meeting, but it was about adoption and I was only there as a favor to a friend”.
Now it is clear several people close to the president played word games or simply lied.
Now Michel Cohen, Trumps personal lawyer and confidant since 2006, appears willing to link Trump to advance knowledge of the meeting with Russians, at Trump tower, during the presidential campaign.
Cohen is apparently ready to testify that president Trump had prior knowledge of the meeting, something that his son has denied under oath. Cohen alleges he was present along with several others when Trump was informed of the Russians offer by Trump Jr. Cohen then says Trump approved of the meeting.
Now finally Trump admits "“This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics - and it went nowhere,”
The general defense of Trump seems to have moved from ‘it never happened’ to ‘what if it did?’ and now finally to "this was a meeting" by the president himself. Rudy Giuliani, Trumps current lawyer, states he doesn’t even know if collusion is a crime. There is no anti-collusion law. There are however laws against conspiracy, campaign law, obstruction of justice, and campaign finance abuse.
It appears the current story is, maybe there was collusion with a hostile foreign power but it is not a crime. Anyway, president Trump was “not at the meeting” according to Giuliani. There is much to be inferred here.
At every stage, the Trump organization has lied. When their lie is exposed, the story changes with another lie. When that is exposed, the story changes yet again.
Well summarized.
People raised their collective eyebrows from the very beginning, not least due to the Trump people that attended: Paul Manafort (then Trump's campaign manager); Don Junior and Jared Kushner. Heavy hitters indeed, especially for discussion of 'adoption' issues.
Mr. Trump has now admitted that the purpose of the meeting was to obtain damaging information about Clinton.
I believe that, when all is revealed, we will discover that the meeting was for the purpose of the Russians and Trump people coordinating how to handle the hacked emails. We must recall, the first batch was released, through WikiLeaks, the day after Mr. Trump accepted the Republican nomination. Obviously, Trump did not want them released during the convention, so as to not take away from his moment in the spotlight.
Ooo, Trump Jr tried to get dirt on Hillary and libs explode. Obama used lies and the entire intelligence apparatus of the US to go after Trump and you libs at okay with that.
Collusion isn't mentioned in the law but CONSPIRING is. The Trump bunch CONSPIRED with the Russians to obtain, hack, the Clinton campaign emails. Hacking of the emails is theft.
AS with Watergate , the President had nothing to do with the collusion and it is not a crime ....BUT lying about it and covering it up is. It's call "OBSTRUCTION of JUSTICE".
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