# 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:** 228
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4545 "2018-05-20T03:48:02Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > In some ways, it’s like watching an 18th-century “natural philosopher” spend untold amounts of effort defending phlogiston theory. Everyone has, over time, realized the theory is full of shit, but this one guy who has a lifetime dedicated to it… well, he has a lifetime dedicated to phlogiston! Whaddya expect him to do? Say he dedicated his life to a lie, one looking increasingly silly as the evidence pours in? Admit he was wrong and the overwhelming evidence correct? > > Of course not - Phlogiston-Phipps here has gotta double-down on that shit. What part of ‘no more personal cracks’ was I unclear on? Warning issued. Don’t do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4546 "2018-05-20T03:54:34Z")
JC probably missed this one: > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > We’ve already established that the “smoke” to which you’re alluding is actually vapor and so any and all analysis of any of said “smoke” is there for null and void. The obvious fact that you just can’t comprehend this, despite the facts being clearly laid in front of you tells me that that we can no longer take your opinion seriously. Good day, sir. I said, Good day. > > Not bad, huh? I call it FothPhippese. This is a warning for failure to follow moderator instructions. Specifically those in post #4529. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4547 "2018-05-20T04:02:53Z")
Ain’t teamwork grand, Bone? Don’t make us close this thread, people. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4548 "2018-05-20T04:57:56Z")
"Good news, Mr. President! There was a typo in the original warrant, so those videos of you sacrificing illegal immigrant children to your Dark Lord are _not_ admissible! 'Course, it ls all over the interwebs…so that’s kind of a kick in the pants…" ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4549 "2018-05-25T00:54:35Z")
Is this the right thread to suggest observing a moment of silence for the [demise of Cambridge Analytica](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/05/cambridge-analytica-files-for-bankruptcy-amidst-siege-of-negative-attention/)? (I will not be held responsible for what happens after that moment) ---
**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:** [May 25, 2018, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4550 "2018-05-25T09:07:19Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Is this the right thread to suggest observing a moment of silence for the [demise of Cambridge Analytica](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/05/cambridge-analytica-files-for-bankruptcy-amidst-siege-of-negative-attention/)? Meh. They’ll just reform as a new entity with a new name but the same people doing the same things, and business will go on. See also: Blackwater. But at least they’ve been minorly inconvenienced for a while. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4551 "2018-05-25T14:59:22Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Meh. They’ll just reform as a new entity with a new name but the same people doing the same things, and business will go on. See also: Blackwater. > > But at least they’ve been minorly inconvenienced for a while. It happened a while back this [link](https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10911848/officers) is to the U.K. Government corporate registration site. The Guardian also covers the [details](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/05/cambridge-analytica-scl-group-new-companies-names). > [@](#): > > On 23 January 2018, four new directors were appointed to Emerdata, including Johnson Chun Shun Ko, who happens to be deputy chairman of Frontier Services Group. On the same day that Ko joined the board of Emerdata, shares were issued valued at £1,912,502. On 7 March 2018, Firecrest Technologies Limited was incorporated, with Alexander Nix listed briefly as director and then replaced by Alexander Tayler, and Emerdata listed as the owner. And on 16 March, a few days before the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower story broke, two more directors joined Emerdata, Jennifer and Rebekah Mercer. Frontier Services Group is an Eric Prince company that supplies security services to overseas Chinese firms. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4552 "2018-05-25T16:18:52Z")
> [@](#): > > …Prince credits his time as a White House intern with some of his political views… Speaking of his internship, Prince said, “I saw a lot of things I didn’t agree with–homosexual groups being invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act.” Disenchanted, Prince became a backer of presidential candidate Pat Buchanan… From his wiki. H.W. Bush was too liberal. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4553 "2018-05-25T16:57:31Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Is this the right thread to suggest observing a moment of silence for the [demise of Cambridge Analytica](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/05/cambridge-analytica-files-for-bankruptcy-amidst-siege-of-negative-attention/)? I tried, but it came out like a normal fart. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2018, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4554 "2018-05-25T17:13:28Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I tried, but it came out like a normal fart. I opened this thread today, and for a moment I thought I’d clicked on the “Have you ever sharted?” thread. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4555 "2018-05-26T05:08:48Z")
Yahoo News has an interesting [story](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-son-concerned-wiretaps-show-trump-jr-met-putin-ally-231215529.html) from Michael Isikoff. The Spanish police have wiretaps of Alexander Torshin that an official says should concern DJT Jr. They wiretapped Torshin in a Russian mob/money laundering investigation. > [@](#): > > The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of Russia’s Central Bank who has forged close ties with U.S. lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobby’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., in May 2016, a top Spanish prosecutor said Friday. > > José Grinda, who has spearheaded investigations into Spanish organized crime, said that bureau officials in recent months requested and were provided transcripts of wiretapped conversations between Torshin and Alexander Romanov, a convicted Russian money launderer. On the wiretaps, Romanov refers to Torshin as “El Padrino,” the godfather. > > “Just a few months ago, the wiretaps of these telephone conversations were given to the FBI,” Grinda said in response to a question from Yahoo News during a talk he gave at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. Asked if he was concerned about Torshin’s meetings with Donald Trump Jr. and other American political figures, Grinda replied: “Mr. Trump’s son should be concerned.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4556 "2018-05-26T06:21:38Z")
A kleptocracy is like a dogfight. The participants are not allowed to show any weakness or they will go down for the count. The unrepentant brashness of the first family is a symptom of that: they have to bull their way through this fraught maze of pilfery in order to succeed. No ground may be given, wrong admitted or their whole enterprise will collapse upon them. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2018, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4557 "2018-05-26T07:13:18Z")
Interesting bit of history (unrelated to Trump): > **[When the CIA infiltrated a presidential campaign](https://www.politico.eu/article/when-the-cia-infiltrated-a-presidential-campaign-barry-goldwater-lyndon-johnson-howard-hunt/)** > > Trump’s allegations about FBI surveillance may be baseless. But it actually happened to Barry Goldwater. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4558 "2018-05-26T14:30:13Z")
Ah, yes. When LBJ was the “Peace” candidate. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2018, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4559 "2018-06-02T01:13:44Z")
More Trump people were attending the Seychelles meeting: > **[Jared Kushner close friend Rick Gerson now under scrutiny from Mueller](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna876361)** > > Gerson met with a UAE royal in the Seychelles around the time of a secret meeting there between Trump friend Erik Prince and Russian and Emirati officials. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4560 "2018-06-02T01:29:21Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > More Trump people were attending the Seychelles meeting: > > [Jared Kushner close friend Rick Gerson now under scrutiny from Mueller](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna876361) Haha. No. That was a completely separate secret meeting in the Seychelles. Also Gerson was just there on vacation. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4561 "2018-06-02T15:17:03Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > More Trump people were attending the Seychelles meeting: > > [Jared Kushner close friend Rick Gerson now under scrutiny from Mueller](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna876361) I’m starting to think that this meeting was better attended than the inauguration. Maybe that’s what he keeps thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4562 "2018-06-05T02:18:15Z")
And now Mueller’s saying [Manafort attempted witness tampering.](https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/manafort-tried-to-tamper-with-potential-witnesses-us-special-counsel-20180605-p4zjid.html) ---
**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:** [June 5, 2018, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4563 "2018-06-05T08:36:58Z")
That Schiff was leaking like a sieve would seem to be proved by the significant slowdown on this thread since the House Intelligence Committee stopped their investigation. Rat want indictments. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2018, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/4564 "2018-06-05T12:50:05Z")
Giuliani on shifting Trump Tower story: ‘It was a mistake. I swear to God.’ One of the first thing I learned in Interview and Interrogation training was that, when someone says “I swear to God.”, the following or proceeding statement has a very high likelihood of being a lie. Ooops, I mean an alternate fact. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=227) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=229)