# Leaked report of Russian blackmail of Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 10, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846 "2017-01-10T23:59:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/121 "2017-01-11T06:56:37Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Maybe, just maybe, evidence that Trump was actually on the Russian payroll and had actually promised to take definite steps against what even Trump supporters would agree was US interests might do it. > > But even then, it would have to involve HD video of Trump himself getting a bag of cash and admitting the deal. Anything less and he will just deny and obfuscate and his supporters will accept his view. What would that be exactly though? Ordering all ICBM and SLBM fired at targets in the Ocean? Scuttling the entire US Fleet? Saying that I will do whatever the Russian Ambassador tells me to do? Cede Alaska and California back to Russia? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/122 "2017-01-11T07:00:18Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > I guess its not completely impossible, but it sure makes Putin start to reach Hannibal Lecter levels of foresight and intrigue. Would it? It’s perfectly plausible that Putin has files on hundreds if not thousands of high-profile business- and political-types, and I’d automatically assume an American multi-millionaire like Trump who has visited Russia at some point (as well as any member of the congress, the cabinet, or even senior state officials who has done so) has had research compiled on him _just in case_. And in 2016, the circumstances were such that Trump could and did make a run for the presidency. If Putin didn’t _already_ have a file on him, including exploitable angles like his penchant for pussy-grabbing, I’d be quite astonished. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/123 "2017-01-11T07:01:42Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > What would that be exactly though? Ordering all ICBM and SLBM fired at targets in the Ocean? Scuttling the entire US Fleet? Saying that I will do whatever the Russian Ambassador tells me to do? Cede Alaska and California back to Russia? Well if you are suggesting that the scenario I outline is almost unimaginable, I agree with you. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/124 "2017-01-11T07:18:39Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > I agree. There’s a possibility that the campaign used Russian intel because, why not? It doesn’t seem at all crazy to think that there’d be a kind of “win at all cost” mentality and that they could use such intel without any consequences. > > I mean, we already have footage of Trump publicly begging the Russians to hack the Democrats I’m actually thinking that the russian contact would have been with the goal of getting donnie to do things and behave certain ways. Basically recruitment. That would hang him. ---
**Author:** ![CatandMouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@CatandMouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatandMouse)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/125 "2017-01-11T07:20:33Z")
I think we should call this “pee-zagate”. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/126 "2017-01-11T07:33:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Loving what appears to be Fake News? I thought fake news, and Americans’ affinity for it, was supposed to be bad. I wish there was a feature to hide username so we could play _Guess Who Posted This._ Irrelevant, counterfactual snarky non sequitur? I’d win the prize on this post! ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/127 "2017-01-11T07:38:56Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I’m actually thinking that the russian contact would have been with the goal of getting donnie to do things and behave certain ways. Basically recruitment. That would hang him. Well, consider this: the allegation is that Russia had been “cultivating, supporting and assisting” Trump for at least five years prior to July 2016. In March 2011 he began all his birther bullshit. He talked about sending investigators to Hawaii, even. Either this was the moment that Putin realised that Trump could be useful or he started having the Kremlin whisper in Trump’s ear that the birther claims would prove fruitful–or both. It wouldn’t take much to play to Trump’s narcissism and lead him down the garden path, all while sowing seeds of destabilisation within the U.S. that would pay off later. That the payoff was Trump winning the presidency five years later was probably not even Plan A at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/128 "2017-01-11T07:48:35Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I’m actually thinking that the russian contact would have been with the goal of getting donnie to do things and behave certain ways. Basically recruitment. That would hang him. No it wouldn’t hang him. He’d just say “sure the Russkies may have been buttering me up, but I never agreed to do anything for them, never did anything for them, and never would.” ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/129 "2017-01-11T09:37:07Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Because, from an anti-Trump perspective, it’s too good to be true. And things that are too good to be true invariable turn out, on examination, not to be true. How is it too good to be true? It would be shocking if something like this weren’t true. We know Trump has some sketchy dealings with Russian banks because US banks wouldn’t lend to him after his constant bankruptcies and lawsits. He also likely has ties to the mob in NY, so it’s not like he’s above sketchy and corrupt things. He visits Russia on business deals. Of course they’re going to be watching everything he does. He has a bizarrely pro-Russian stance. Even among accusations of Russians swinging the election or being a Russian puppet, does Trump come out and do something that suggests he’s not? No, all he does is praise Putin and kiss Russia’s ass and do exactly the opposite of what you’d expect him to do if he wasn’t somehow beholden to them. He wants to appoint a Goldman Sachs executive to secretary of state - which is bizarre enough in itself - basically for the purpose of relaxing Russian sanctions and setting up new oil deals. The Russians also hacked the RNC computers yet didn’t air any Republican dirty laundry. Because they were holding it in reserve for blackmail. Trump thinks he’s invincible, he’s not security conscious, he’s not subtle, he’s not private, he’s not thoughtful - the odds that the Russians don’t have blackmail material on him is vanishingly small. The “peed on Obama’s bed” thing is just a distraction from the real scandal - clearly the Russians have something on Trump and he’s beholden to them. This is not “too good to be true”, it’s the obvious conclusion from everything we know, including Trump’s behavior even after being accused of being a Russian puppet. > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > I guess its not completely impossible, but it sure makes Putin start to reach Hannibal Lecter levels of foresight and intrigue. > > “No no Clarice, our Donny wasn’t a run of the mill piss fetishist. he was a piss voyeur. He hated to get his tiny hands dirty…or wet.” This is ridiculous. The levels of surveillance in Eastern European territories was extreme. Putin grew up as a KGB officer - one of the people that orchestrated the surveillance state. And now he’s the most powerful autocrat in the world. There’s basically no chance that he doesn’t have a file with surveillance data on every notable US person who does business in Russia. There’s no way that hotel rooms, restaurants, rental cars, etc. aren’t routinely bgged. And we know Trump has been up to some sketchy stuff in Russia - he’s not just a tourist passing through Moscow. Putin doesn’t have to have predicted a Trump presidency, he just has to have done the same thing he did all throughout his career - watch people, get dirt on them, and wait for the opportunity to exploit it. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/130 "2017-01-11T10:33:35Z")
I think this report is quite likely to be fake. As someone implied earlier it’s too good to be true. It’s the anti Trump version of pizzagate. That being said I believe the following is plausible: 1. Elements in Russia(or its govt) tried to undermine the Clinton campaign. 2. Trump has financial dealings with individual Russians, and that these individual Russians may also have dubious dealings with the Russian gov’t. 3. Trump may have cheated on his wife while in Moscow. What I doubt is: 4. Substantial links between Trump, his campaign, and Russian intelligence. 5. That there is filmed evidence of a piss party. Why would Russia and Trump risk any communication when Russia can just as easily “hijack” the election via wikileaks alone? Trump has been relatively successful in hiding his most “icky” sexual encounters. I mean his dating history has been publicized but they are generally of the vanilla type. Even the grabbing them by the pussy conversation was done with a relatively close friend. A fairly competent powerful man just isn’t likely to compromise himself in the Presidential suite in Moscow with complete strangers imo. I mean the very last place someone like Donald Trump would wish to organize a career threatening encounter would be in a Moscow hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/131 "2017-01-11T10:48:21Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > That’s some SPECTRE-level tin hat stuff there. Are you somehow assuming that when an American billionaire visits Russia for business dealings, they won’t routinely try to archive dirt on him? Or maybe that they will make an exception for one who is politically connected? Well, I mean its not like the Russians have any kind of huge system set up for that sort of thing… oh, wait. Well at least its not something Putting would have done, its not like he has a KGB background… oh wait. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/132 "2017-01-11T11:11:20Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > He has a bizarrely pro-Russian stance. Even among accusations of Russians swinging the election or being a Russian puppet, does Trump come out and do something that suggests he’s not? No, all he does is praise Putin and kiss Russia’s ass and do exactly the opposite of what you’d expect him to do if he wasn’t somehow beholden to them. I agree with much of what you say but not this. For the most part Trump adopts the tough guy mantra: “don’t apologise, don’t explain”. It’s his style to double down. Many of his supporters are stupid and undereducated. As long as he doesn’t behave like something was worth apologising for or denying, they won’t think it was something worth apologising for or denying. His response to the allegations of Russian influence over the election were precisely what I would have expected of him. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/133 "2017-01-11T11:31:33Z")
Completely irrelevant politically. We went through the looking glass and are in post-truth, post-fact wonderland. There isn’t even a need anymore to argue semantics or opinion or spin. If you don’t like something, and it didn’t happen in front of you, you just say it’s fake. This includes documents of any sort (written , photo, audio, video). On the other hand, live by the dumb shit, die by the dumb shit. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/134 "2017-01-11T11:57:59Z")
Am I the only one who heard this story and thought “Shit - what’s going on that’s so bad they’ve released a story involving Trump and pissing prostitutes to distract us from it”? > [@pulykamell](#): > > If it turns out to be a hoax, that’s another nail in the coffin of journalistic credibility and trust. Frankly it’s more nails than coffin by now. > [@](#): > > I feel like we’re in danger of a media "boy cries wolf’ effect, so when/if Trump is caught red-handed doing something naughty, nobody in the middle will be left to believe it. If I were the cynical conspiratorial type, I’d think this is an effort to continue eroding the media’s credibility. That doesn’t take much of a conspiracy or cynicism. It’s pretty openly done now. > [@skdo23](#): > > Not that it proves anything, but “Some Guy Wrote a Fake News Story About a Guy Almost Everyone Hates” probably wouldn’t be one of the lead stories on CNN, WaPo, NYT, and NBC News right now. Oh yes it would. Especially if sex is somehow involved. ---
**Author:** ![Enlightening\_Meditation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@Enlightening\_Meditation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enlightening_Meditation)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/135 "2017-01-11T12:29:30Z")
These unverified allegations on Trump remind me of a scene from _The Simpsons_ episode ‘The Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington’ Krusty the Clown [when considering a run for Congress]: “Uh, just one thing. Are you guys any good at covering up any youthful and middle-aged indiscretions?” Mr. Burns: “Are these indiscretions romantic, financial, or treasonous?” Krusty the Clown: “A Russian hooker. You tell me” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/136 "2017-01-11T12:48:31Z")
This is a golden opportunity for Trump to shower Putin with praise. Either that, or he’ll be really pissed. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/137 "2017-01-11T13:10:52Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Either that, or he’ll be really pissed. Judging by his current twitter tantrum, he’s not taking this calmly at all > [@](#): > > Russia just said the unverified report paid for by political opponents is “A COMPLETE AND TOTAL FABRICATION, UTTER NONSENSE.” Very unfair! > [@](#): > > Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING! > [@](#): > > I win an election easily, a great “movement” is verified, and crooked opponents try to belittle our victory with FAKE NEWS. A sorry state! > [@](#): > > Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to “leak” into the public. One last shot at me.Are we living in Nazi Germany? The next President of the United States of America, there. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/138 "2017-01-11T13:12:40Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Judging by his current twitter tantrum, he’s not taking this calmly at all > > The next President of the United States of America, there. If more leaks keep dribbling out, Trump won’t be able to contain the flow of his anger. ---
**Author:** ![Crybaby\_Boobie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crybaby_boobie/32/545_2.png) [@Crybaby\_Boobie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crybaby_Boobie)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/139 "2017-01-11T13:18:41Z")
What’s the difference between a lentil and a chickpea? Trump wouldn’t pay $1000 to have a lentil on his face. This is the true benefit of the story. More low hanging fruit for us internet comics. Also, our new response to the “democrat party” is now the GOPee. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846/140 "2017-01-11T13:25:22Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Judging by his current twitter tantrum, he’s not taking this calmly at all > > The next President of the United States of America, there. He’s saying that intelligence services should suppress free speech that he personally doesn’t like. Are we living in Nazi Germany? Well, sounds like he wants his own Gestapo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leaked-report-of-russian-blackmail-of-trump/776846.md?page=8)