# 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:** 122
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2424 "2017-09-28T23:14:05Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > Nope. Neither did a $100K ad buy. Both were a drop in the ocean. But we’re having Congressional investigations into and general hysteria about one and not the other. But both efforts were intended to influence the election, right? And one is illegal and one is not, right? ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2425 "2017-09-28T23:49:28Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > But both efforts were intended to influence the election, right? And one is illegal and one is not, right? Yep (if the ads in question fell under that law). Feel free to prosecute the Russians for breaking the law. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2426 "2017-09-28T23:58:50Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > Yep (if the ads in question fell under that law). Feel free to prosecute the Russians for breaking the law. Are you generally in favor of foreign countries getting involved in our elections? Like when Senator Fred Thompson had a hearing with Tibetan monks who contributed to Bill Clinton’s campaign, did you ridicule Thompson for how little money they donated in relation to overall campaign spending? ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2427 "2017-09-29T00:10:40Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Are you generally in favor of foreign countries getting involved in our elections? Like when Senator Fred Thompson had a hearing with Tibetan monks who contributed to Bill Clinton’s campaign, did you ridicule Thompson for how little money they donated in relation to overall campaign spending? Fred Thompson’s hearing was a grandstanding nothingburger. Cheap political point-making. Yes, foreign countries are involved in our elections. Russia is. France is. England is. Mexico is. China is. And have been, in election cycle after election cycle. That’s news? When Enrique Nieto met with Trump - was that “getting involved in our elections”? Yes. When Hollande explicitly endorsed Hillary Clinton and attacked Trump - was that “getting involved in our elections”? Yes. Etc. etc. So go try prosecuting Hollande. Or Nieto. Or Putin. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2428 "2017-09-29T00:35:47Z")
If we can’t actually prosecute anyone for this shit, can we at least find out who, what, and where? Most likely, we can get the “Why?” on our own. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2429 "2017-09-29T00:47:17Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > 1. So? > > 2. And? > > Collusion or treason doesn’t need either of these to be true. Where are you going with this? I was responding to specific points that **Ascenray** and I were discussing. I said nothing about them being required for collusion or treason. Not sure why you’re bringing that up. Do you regularly read things people write, take them out of context, and then complain that they don’t prove things they weren’t intended to prove? ---
**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:** [September 29, 2017, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2430 "2017-09-29T00:58:16Z")
To summarize the discussion in order to aid in your comprehension: [ul] [li]Ascenray - The topics Russia talked about is evidence (not proof!) of collusion[/li][li]Me - No, I don’t think so. Russia would have chosen those same topics independently.[/li][li]You - So what? Where are you going with that? That doesn’t disprove treason![/li][li]Me - Um… ok?[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2431 "2017-09-29T18:39:21Z")
… and another “Russians hacked the elections” story [collapses](https://theintercept.com/2017/09/28/yet-another-major-russia-story-falls-apart-is-skepticism-permissible-yet/). At what point will the “cry wolf” stories start to be ignored? ---
**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 29, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2432 "2017-09-29T18:48:26Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I was responding to specific points that **Ascenray** and I were discussing. > > I said nothing about them being required for collusion or treason. Not sure why you’re bringing that up. Do you regularly read things people write, take them out of context, and then complain that they don’t prove things they weren’t intended to prove? > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > To summarize the discussion in order to aid in your comprehension: > [ul] > [li] **Ascenray** - The topics Russia talked about is evidence (not proof!) of collusion[/li][li]Me - No, I don’t think so. Russia would have chosen those same topics independently.[/li][li]You - So what? Where are you going with that? That doesn’t disprove treason![/li][li]Me - Um… ok?[/li][/ul] It’s kind of you to conflate me with another poster on the board whose posts appear to be thoughtful and reasonable, but I’m not sure he’d appreciate being mistaken for me. He would probably appreciate your spelling his nickname correctly, however: **Acsenray**. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2433 "2017-09-29T19:15:16Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > … and another “Russians hacked the elections” story [collapses](https://theintercept.com/2017/09/28/yet-another-major-russia-story-falls-apart-is-skepticism-permissible-yet/). > > At what point will the “cry wolf” stories start to be ignored? So when Trump says that Obama tapped his phones shortly before the election, and Trumpists says his tweet was close enough despite being wrong on all counts; why do you not afford the media the same “eh close enough?” attitude? The news story mentioned 21 states and cyber attacks. There are indeed 21 states (more even!), and there are cyber attacks that happen. Why isn’t that good enough for you? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2434 "2017-09-29T19:34:24Z")
Glen Greenwald has his moments. Regrettably, they are moments. Or were. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2435 "2017-09-29T20:20:38Z")
Not too sure two Commissioners huffing “Not on MY watch, they didn’t!” refutes all that much, imho. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2436 "2017-09-29T20:32:16Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Glen Greenwald has his moments. Regrettably, they are moments. Or were. I’m anxiously awaiting his upcoming 3,500 word opinion piece for the Intercept that is nothing but the words “James Clapper – fuck you!!” repeated 875 times. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2437 "2017-09-29T21:03:20Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Glen Greenwald has his moments. Regrettably, they are moments. Or were. His comment section now looks indistinguishable from Breitbart’s (or what I imagine it to be, never having had the cast-iron stomach or prophylactic level of intoxication to actually look), so he’s got that to be proud of. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2438 "2017-10-01T14:19:04Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Glen Greenwald has his moments. Regrettably, they are moments. Or were. WADR (& I mean this seriously - I think you’re a genuinely funny guy) you gotta stop reusing this line. It was funny the first time, maybe the second. But [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=14488883) … ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2439 "2017-10-01T16:50:52Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > It’s kind of you to conflate me with another poster on the board whose posts appear to be thoughtful and reasonable, but I’m not sure he’d appreciate being mistaken for me. > > He would probably appreciate your spelling his nickname correctly, however: **Acsenray**. Oops, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2440 "2017-10-01T20:01:15Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > WADR (& I mean this seriously - I think you’re a genuinely funny guy) you gotta stop reusing this line. It was funny the first time, maybe the second. But [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=14488883) … There’s something funny about that link. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2441 "2017-10-01T21:01:04Z")
I stole that line from me? Mostly its Wodehouse borrow, Vonnegut steal and Twain plunder. Now that I know, I kinda wish I didn’t. So thanks. I guess. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2442 "2017-10-01T23:40:53Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > There’s something funny about that link. Worked when I first put it in. It was a link to elucidator and the word “moments”, and captured that same line being used over and over and over and over and over … I know I’ve seen it more than enough times myself, but even I was surprised at how often it’s been used. The thing is, that he can do better. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/2443 "2017-10-02T01:55:23Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Worked when I first put it in. > > It was a link to elucidator and the word “moments”, and captured that same line being used over and over and over and over and over … > > I know I’ve seen it more than enough times myself, but even I was surprised at how often it’s been used. The thing is, that he can do better. Links to SDMB searches only last for a moment. Regrettably, just a moment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=121) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=123)