The next developments in the collusion story

[_EAllusion]

The unnamed acquaintance has been named. It's a person named Rob Goldstone. He's a Trump friend who is also connected in Russia with one degree of separation from Putin, so that explains the how the connection could be set up.

The shadiness people are uncovering from that as we speak is something to behold.

[_EAllusion]

For what it is worth, it's been established that the meeting, the meeting set up by a person with solid Donald Trump and Russian connections, was held at Trump tower while Donald Trump was there on major campaign business. It's been established Trump was in the building for almost the entire day. It also has been established that Manafort met with him in person either before or after the meeting. So, in order for Trump to not know about it, which is the current spox position, he'd have to have no idea that his campaign manager, one of his closest advisors in his son-in-law, and his son acting on his behalf were meeting with a Kremlin connected lawyer about damaging Clinton intel and US sanctions without his knowledge or approval right under his nose.

Trump is so out-of-it incompetent, that this is surprisingly possible, but it still is quite sketchy.

ETA: It's even worse than that, it turns out.

The day that Trump was meeting with his campaign at Trump tower while his team was meeting with Russian connections about possible anti-Clinton intel, Politico reported that Donald Trump was hunkered down with his advisors to discuss anti-Clinton strategy. The exact same day Trump announced he was going to give a major speech about how Clinton is unfit to be president. So we'd have to believe that this meeting happened without Trump's knowledge despite anti-Clinton information being the issue of the day. Manafort, Kushner, and Trump Jr., would have to be massively insubordinate for that to be possible.

[_honorentheos]

Thanks for the updates, EA.

[_Chap]

...

Trump is so out-of-it incompetent, that this is surprisingly possible, but it still is quite sketchy.

ETA: It's even worse than that, it turns out.

... So we'd have to believe that this meeting happened without Trump's knowledge despite anti-Clinton information being the issue of the day. Manafort, Kushner, and Trump Jr., would have to be massively insubordinate for that to be possible.

Anyone want to make us look at a really cool passing squirrel instead? Go on, you know you want to ...

I am becoming convinced that if Trump ever faces any criminal proceedings in this and related connections (yes, I know that is tantalisingly hard to imagine happening, even now) his two main defences will be:

1. I am really just this reality TV star, a real people person, and I can't be expected to understand how all this complicated politics stuff works. I have people who are supposed to look after all that, I am not responsible for their foul-ups.

2. I have (alas!) recently been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimers, so my medical advisers say that I am unable to give any evidence about what may or may not have happened at any time in the past. Please respect my privacy, and leave me in peace to pass my remaining time with my family.

[_moksha]

This story would gain a lot more traction if Republicans were screaming bloody murder. Of course, they would be screaming it already if someone other than a Republican had been colluding with Russia to swing an American election. When it involves a fellow Republican, their capacity to accept duplicity and crimes against the American people is yuge.

[_Jersey Girl]

How is this NOT collusion?

I keep coming back to this question.

It seems to me that yes, this constitutes collusion.

I have yet to see a legal definition that applies to politics. Can anyone supply a definition that pertains directly to politics?

Here's the other thing. Political campaigns do search for dirt on opponents and use it as a vehicle to trash the other side. The difference here is that they went to Russia?

What American (first of all) trusts anything Russia has to say about an American Presidential candidate and for what reason would they go to Russia for such information?

What I'm saying is that I don't think these people are smart. You trust your biggest enemy? Who does that?

[_EAllusion]

So Donald Trump Jr.'s position over the course of a single weekend evolved from:

1) No meeting ever happened.

2) Ok, a meeting happened, but I didn't know what it was about. We just discussed adoption mostly.

3) Ok, the meeting was set up to discuss colluding to receive anti-Clinton intel, but I didn't understand it and no collusion happened.

4) Collusion didn't happen, but actually, collusion is good. All the smart campaign people do it if they can.

It's like were watching the Godfather, only everyone is Fredo.

[_Jersey Girl]

So Donald Trump Jr.'s position over the course of a single weekend evolved from:

1) No meeting ever happened.

2) Ok, a meeting happened, but I didn't know what it was about. We just discussed adoption mostly.

3) Ok, the meeting was set up to discuss colluding to receive anti-Clinton intel, but I didn't understand it and no collusion happened.

4) Collusion didn't happen, but actually, collusion is good. All the smart campaign people do it if they can.

It's like were watching the Godfather, only everyone is Fredo.

Smart people don't collude with their arch enemy and expect TRUTH to be the end product.

I cannot believe how people so filthy stinking rich could be so incredibly stupid.

[_beastie]

We're also being asked to believe that Trump, who was in the building at the time of the meeting and then had lunch with Manafort, knew nothing about it.

I think we're dealing with a severe case of affluenza here.

[_Molok]

This was also the same day that Trump asked Hillary on Twitter where the 33,000 emails she deleted were. That was the first time he had brought that up.