# 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:** 174
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3464 "2018-01-05T20:01:20Z")
> [@Sinaptics](#): > > X-Posted from BBQ thread: > > Congressman Jolly sent a [tweet](https://twitter.com/DavidJollyFL/status/949133249430745089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstory%2F2018%2F1%2F5%2F1730051%2F-important-tweet-from-former-Congressman-David-Jolly) this morning mentioning that DC and NY are one party states regarding consent to be recorded. > > He brings up an interesting point that Mueller can subpoena all the tapes and examine them for statements that conflict or corroborate what was told to investigators. Could be some juicy stuff there. Was there a mention somewhere of something being taped? (The Veselnitskaya meeting?) ---
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3465 "2018-01-05T20:08:09Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Was there a mention somewhere of something being taped? (The Veselnitskaya meeting?) Wolff claims to have tapes of the conversations that went into the book. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3466 "2018-01-05T20:09:09Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Wolff claims to have tapes of the conversations that went into the book. Ah… Ah. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3467 "2018-01-05T20:15:48Z")
Meanwhile the feds are looking at Hillary’s emails and the Clinton Foundation once again. I’ve said it before: it would not surprise me at all if Hillary Clinton were indicted for, I don’t know…something. The whole idea is that the Republicans want to create competing investigations and give the appearance that Democrats are just as corrupt as they are. They’ll probably go after Barack Obama for Fast and Furious before too long. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3468 "2018-01-05T21:28:21Z")
There is not a doubt in my mind that as long as the Republicans hold power, they’ll continue to abuse it. They have hopelessly lost their way. There’s not a shred of honesty in anything they do anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3469 "2018-01-05T23:11:32Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Congress has recommended its first charges. [Against Christopher Steele.](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/us/politics/christopher-steele-dossier-judiciary-committee.html?_r=0) So, either… 1. the FBI declines to investigate Steele and Republicans claim that the FBI is partisan 2. they investigate and if Steele doesn’t end up being charged, Republicans will claim that the FBI is partisan The FBI has already been bullied into opening a Clinton investigation. Methinks -well, mehopes- they will get tired of playing this game before long. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3470 "2018-01-06T00:38:22Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > So, either… > > 1. the FBI declines to investigate Steele and Republicans claim that the FBI is partisan > 2. they investigate and if Steele doesn’t end up being charged, Republicans will claim that the FBI is partisan > > The FBI has already been bullied into opening a Clinton investigation. Methinks -well, mehopes- they will get tired of playing this game before long. The IG’s investigation of the FBI should be releasing their conclusions in the next month or two. That will probably change the math, one way or another. I think that the House Republicans are trying to get as much smear in as they can before the IG report goes live. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3471 "2018-01-06T02:21:58Z")
I have a theory about Grassley/Graham’s referral for investigation. It’s stupid. I mean Nunes level stupid. So stupid that it may be true. G&G sent a letter to the DOJ/FBI saying they think Steele lied to investigators about his contacts with the media. Attached to this letter was a classified document which they say proves he lied. G&G have never spoken to Steele. The only American’s who have are the FBI, who met with him in London. G&G have access to what Steele told the FBI. So, what are G&G telling the FBI that the FBI didn’t already know? Somehow, from somewhere, they must have uncovered information about Steele that shows what he told the FBI was a lie. My theory is this. I read an excerpt earlier from Wolff’s book that mentions Steele briefly. It says that Steele had told a handful of media outlets about the dossier but none were interested. Apparently it’s about all Wolff said about Steele. Could that be where their information came from? The book went on sale at midnight last night in DC and the only thing it says about Steele is about his media contacts. Today, Grassley and Graham tell the FBI that Steele lied to them about his media contacts. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2018, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3472 "2018-01-06T03:35:24Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I have a theory about Grassley/Graham’s referral for investigation. It’s stupid. I mean Nunes level stupid. So stupid that it may be true. > > G&G sent a letter to the DOJ/FBI saying they think Steele lied to investigators about his contacts with the media. Attached to this letter was a classified document which they say proves he lied. G&G have never spoken to Steele. The only American’s who have are the FBI, who met with him in London. G&G have access to what Steele told the FBI. > > So, what are G&G telling the FBI that the FBI didn’t already know? Somehow, from somewhere, they must have uncovered information about Steele that shows what he told the FBI **was a lie**. > > My theory is this. I read an excerpt earlier from Wolff’s book that mentions Steele briefly. It says that Steele had told a handful of media outlets about the dossier but none were interested. Apparently it’s about all Wolff said about Steele. Could that be where their information came from? The book went on sale at midnight last night in DC and the only thing it says about Steele is about his media contacts. Today, Grassley and Graham tell the FBI that Steele lied to them about his media contacts. Please don’t refer to it as a “lie” unless/until there is some actual evidence for that. Doing so validates G&G’s assertion with no proof whatsoever. People get dates mixed up all the time. People accidentally misstate dates all the time. That doesn’t make it a “lie.” Based on what is known of Christopher Steele and the reputation he earned over his career, the idea that he “lied” is absurd. He had no dog in this fight. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3473 "2018-01-06T05:19:20Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Based on what is known of Christopher Steele and the reputation he earned over his career, the idea that he “lied” is absurd. He had no dog in this fight. Part of the Republican strategy: come up with a lie to discredit X, regardless of its truth. And the Deplorables (those not among the lie-crafters) suck it up with a straw. Oh, did you know that Hillary instructed Steele to lie? ---
**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:** [January 6, 2018, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3474 "2018-01-06T05:38:09Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Oh, did you know that Hillary instructed Steele to lie? Went without saying. :dubious: ---
**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:** [January 6, 2018, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3475 "2018-01-06T06:47:11Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Please don’t refer to it as a “lie” unless/until there is some actual evidence for that. Doing so validates G&G’s assertion with no proof whatsoever. > > People get dates mixed up all the time. People accidentally misstate dates all the time. That doesn’t make it a “lie.” Based on what is known of Christopher Steele and the reputation he earned over his career, the idea that he “lied” is absurd. He had no dog in this fight. Is Steele even an American citizen? If not, then not only does he have even less if a dog in this fight, but he could presumably say anything he could ever dream of to the FBI, on British soil, and he couldn’t be charged with a single thing. Demonstrating that he told one lie might discredit his information, but all of his information was gossip and rumors to begin with, and never said to be more than that. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3476 "2018-01-06T11:46:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Part of the Republican strategy: come up with a lie to discredit X, regardless of its truth. And the Deplorables (those not among the lie-crafters) suck it up with a straw. > > Oh, did you know that Hillary instructed Steele to lie? That’s probably one aim, but regardless of whether they achieve it, what is increasingly likely is that Republican party, if left in power, will achieve the complete politicization of the criminal justice process at the federal level. This partisan rendering of justice has been going on for some time but really got out of control with the Bengazi probe. It’s a continuation of that trend, and it promises to get worse. Republicans believe in the rule of people, not the rule of law. They believe that whoever has the power should be able to use it any way they see fit – unless of course they are not in power. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3477 "2018-01-06T15:46:27Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Is Steele even an American citizen? > > If not, then not only does he have even less if a dog in this fight, but he could presumably say anything he could ever dream of to the FBI, on British soil, and he couldn’t be charged with a single thing. Exactly. He’s British and the FBI spoke to him in London. To be charged with making a false statement, the statement has to be material to the case and has to take place in an American jurisdiction. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Please don’t refer to it as a “lie” unless/until there is some actual evidence for that. Doing so validates G&G’s assertion with no proof whatsoever. Right, I meant ‘what they claim to be a lie’ ---
**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:** [January 6, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3478 "2018-01-06T16:47:39Z")
Apropos of nothing, I wish the pee tape… if it exists… would be released by the quiet and simple means of a PornHub upload. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3479 "2018-01-06T16:52:54Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Apropos of nothing, I wish the pee tape… if it exists… would be released by the quiet and simple means of a PornHub upload. Nah, upload it on pirate cites with the title “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3480 "2018-01-06T18:20:22Z")
What would the release of the pee tape accomplish? Seriously? The GOP would claim it was a hoax and go on selling out to rich donors and Russians. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3481 "2018-01-06T18:45:38Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > That’s probably one aim, but regardless of whether they achieve it, what is increasingly likely is that Republican party, if left in power, will achieve the complete politicization of the criminal justice process at the federal level. **This partisan rendering of justice** has been going on for some time but really got out of control with the Bengazi probe. It’s a continuation of that trend, and it promises to get worse. Republicans believe in the rule of people, not the rule of law. They believe that whoever has the power should be able to use it any way they see fit – unless of course they are not in power. You’re using “rendering” here in the sense of “tearing to pieces,” right? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3482 "2018-01-06T19:00:27Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > You’re using “rendering” here in the sense of “tearing to pieces,” right? It’s a necessary step in the making of the sausage. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/3483 "2018-01-06T20:35:26Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > Exactly. He’s British and the FBI spoke to him in London. To be charged with making a false statement, the statement has to be material to the case and has to take place in an American jurisdiction. The hope, of course, is that Steele–as well as other potential witnesses to Trump-&-Trump-associates-misconduct/criminality–will be intimidated by the _'we will imprison you if you dare to testify_’ message implicit in this recommendation that charges be filed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=173) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=175)