# Trump associates may have coordinated with Russians, according to US officials **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 23, 2017, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799 "2017-03-23T00:28:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 113
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2244 "2017-09-07T16:20:28Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > If you refuse to look at it, you can’t know it is “partisan tripe”? I didn’t refuse to look at it. I looked at it enough to appreciate that it was partisan tripe, and stopped at that point. > [@](#): > > Back up your statement here and lay out your proof that it’s stupid conspiracy theory partisan tripe bullshit. No. > [@](#): > > Likewise, they would have reported if the dossier were found false but they haven’t. OK. What’s your point? Has anyone claimed the dossier was found to be false? > [@](#): > > The link is literally a copy of the dossier with sections highlighted and annotations from “mainstream media” articles containing the facts we know pertaining to those sections. The info pops up as you click on highlighted words so it’s not like you even have to look at footnotes at the bottom or go through a “mass of info” to read it. There’s an enormous amount of material there. The specific standard that that needs to meet is that it shows something significant in the dossier which was not previously known but was subsequently shown to be true. I’m not looking through that mass of info to find something which meets that standard. Anyone thinks there’s something there can look through it themselves and point to something they claim backs them up. I’m not responding to vague “somewhere in there is the proof that I’m right” claims, and don’t intend to respond further to posters who can’t appreciate this simple issue. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2245 "2017-09-07T16:26:59Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > No. Then stop barking ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2246 "2017-09-07T16:36:59Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2247 "2017-09-07T18:30:24Z")
So, Trump Jr. met with the Russians [to determine Clinton’s fitness for office](http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/07/politics/donald-trump-jr-congress-meeting-nyt/index.html). That’s a neat way of saying collusion. ---
**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:** [September 7, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2248 "2017-09-07T18:53:18Z")
Don’t you see? They had to collude with the Russians to see if Hillary was colluding with the Russians. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2249 "2017-09-07T19:23:18Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > So, Trump Jr. met with the Russians [to determine Clinton’s fitness for office](http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/07/politics/donald-trump-jr-congress-meeting-nyt/index.html). That’s a neat way of saying collusion. :smack: Of course! Because who better to evaluate Hillary’s “fitness” than the Russians? Especially her “fitness” as weighed against the [del]unimpeach[/del]… errrr… patently obvious qualifications of her opponent? FFS. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2250 "2017-09-07T19:27:42Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > Lengthy??? It’s the goddamned dossier. Hover over the yellow parts Even hovering, I recommend latex gloves. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2251 "2017-09-07T19:30:45Z")
I think “evaluate her fitness” is just another way to say “get dirt on her”. It’s not like Trump Jr was having a hard time deciding who to vote for and expected this meeting to help him make up his mind. So nothing changed there. Question remains whether that’s collusion. (Problem for him there is the reference to the Russian gov in the email he was sent.) ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2252 "2017-09-07T22:35:04Z")
The other problem is that he says that he intended to talk to his lawyers about the meeting before he used any of the information, indicating that he knew it was a problem and can’t feign innocence. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2253 "2017-09-07T23:36:25Z")
The other other problem is the reference to “donations” and “RNC” that so far has not been explained. And, by not having offered us any explanations to-date where those keywords would make any sense, there’s no way that we can reasonably believe anything presented to us now even if it is entirely fair that they don’t remember every word that was said in the meeting and shouldn’t be expected to. But reasonably, according to them, the conversation only covered two things: 1. Dirt on Hillary, where she might have been receiving funding or information from Russia. 2. Adoptions. I can’t think of any way in which either of those two conversations would dovetail into conversation of the RNC nor donations, that would be above-board. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2254 "2017-09-08T00:15:12Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > 1. Adoptions. [When the Kremlin Says “Adoptions”, It Means “Sanctions”](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/world/americas/kremlin-adoptions-sanctions-russia.html?mcubz=0) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2255 "2017-09-08T00:27:17Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > [When the Kremlin Says “Adoptions”, It Means “Sanctions”](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/world/americas/kremlin-adoptions-sanctions-russia.html?mcubz=0) Well yes, but again, any above-the-board conversation about that isn’t going to include the words “donations” nor the “RNC”. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2256 "2017-09-08T03:15:02Z")
Had a bad feeling about this guy, considering how he came to the attention of Trump as a nominee. Guess he took the loyalty pledge. Dirty, dirty, dirty. [New FBI Chief Sees No Evidence of White House Interference in Russia Probe](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fbi-russia/fbi-chief-sees-no-evidence-of-white-house-interference-in-russia-probe-idUSKCN1BI2JN) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2257 "2017-09-08T06:18:16Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Had a bad feeling about this guy, considering how he came to the attention of Trump as a nominee. Guess he took the loyalty pledge. Dirty, dirty, dirty. > > [New FBI Chief Sees No Evidence of White House Interference in Russia Probe](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fbi-russia/fbi-chief-sees-no-evidence-of-white-house-interference-in-russia-probe-idUSKCN1BI2JN) Or Trump hasn’t tried to interfere. Benjamin Wittes from Lawfare supported the guy, so I’d want to see more than this to start complaining about him. And, realistically, if the guy tried to yank the agents who are on the case off, or tell them to slow down, or curtail their spending, or anything at this point, I think it fair to assume that it would last for a total of five seconds before being restored. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2258 "2017-09-08T13:16:47Z")
I would argue that the new FBI guy should look at his job title as evidence that Trump has interfered in the investigation. Why is there a “new” FBI guy again? ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2259 "2017-09-09T19:24:45Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I can’t think of any way in which either of those two conversations would dovetail into conversation of the RNC nor donations, that would be above-board. Hate to yank yet another football away from you, Sage Rat: [http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/07/russian-meeting-notes-not-damaging-to-trump-family-242464](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/07/russian-meeting-notes-not-damaging-to-trump-family-242464) “The notes do not contain the word “donor,” as NBC News previously reported, but they appear to explain the background of a key player involved in the [Magnitsky] act, these people said, and this person’s previous donations to the Republican National Committee.” So - the notes say that one of the key players involved in the US Congress passing of sanctions on Russia donated to RNC. Is that “above board” enough for you? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2260 "2017-09-09T21:08:33Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > they appear to explain the background of a key player involved in the [Magnitsky] act So the meeting was about sanctions ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2261 "2017-09-12T17:40:48Z")
Buzzfeed[has a documen](https://www.buzzfeed.com/johnhudson/russia-sought-a-broad-reset-with-trump-secret-document-shows?bftwnews&utm_term=.ffeQPBOWJ#.nq1DOxeRm)t that early in the Trump administration, Putin sought complete normalization of relations with the US. A reset that would ignore all of the election tampering and Ukraine invading stuff. Apparently the meeting schedule was ambitious and optimistic that the Trump administration would be on their side for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2262 "2017-09-12T18:06:35Z")
It’s all about the money. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2263 "2017-09-12T23:15:18Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Buzzfeed[has a documen](https://www.buzzfeed.com/johnhudson/russia-sought-a-broad-reset-with-trump-secret-document-shows?bftwnews&utm_term=.ffeQPBOWJ#.nq1DOxeRm)t that early in the Trump administration, Putin sought complete normalization of relations with the US. A reset that would ignore all of the election tampering and Ukraine invading stuff. Apparently the meeting schedule was ambitious and optimistic that the Trump administration would be on their side for some reason. But did they have a button with bad English ready? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=112) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=114)