# 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:** 272
**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 12, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5425 "2019-01-12T17:15:22Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2019, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5426 "2019-01-12T17:22:02Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > [The shitshow just got shittier.](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/us/politics/fbi-trump-russia-inquiry.html) > > There are no words to express how ill I feel to know that the top law enforcement agents in the country have been actively investigating whether the President is actively working at the direction of a foreign power. (Future potential comment from Senator James Lankford (R): “This does not matter, because President Trump was already working for the Russians BEFORE he was elected. So this is really not a big deal. Let’s move on.” ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5427 "2019-01-12T17:23:51Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > I would be even more distressed if I learned that the FBI became aware of the possibility and FAILED to investigate it, failed to get a FISA warrant, failed to try to put a mole into the Trump campaign. Think this through, Trumpies, isn’t it terrifying you could be complicit in helping destroy our democracy? On this very note, I think McConnell should be investigated. Why exactly is he handing the entirety of the power of the Legislative Branch over to a man who is being investigated for being a Russian Asset? What is he gaining from these actions? Does Russia have something on him? ---
**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 12, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5428 "2019-01-12T18:51:04Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > (Future potential comment from Senator James Lankford (R): > > “This does not matter, because President Trump was already working for the Russians BEFORE he was elected. So this is really not a big deal. Let’s move on.” That was such a perfect statement I have no words. \ ---
**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 12, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5429 "2019-01-12T22:40:55Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > … Think this through, Trumpies, isn’t it terrifying you could be complicit in helping destroy our democracy? No. Trumpies have 100% bought the classic Putin propaganda that Democracy is for Losers. They won’t mourn its demise. They’ve been told not to, and they do as they’re told. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5430 "2019-01-12T23:55:47Z")
And some Trump associates may have been [kept in the dark](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/425067-trump-concealed-details-of-meeting-with-putin-from-senior-officials). > [@](#): > > On one occasion, Trump even reportedly went as far as to take notes from his own interpreter of such an encounter and directed a linguist not to discuss the meeting with other officials in his administration. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5431 "2019-01-13T03:37:42Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > On this very note, I think McConnell should be investigated. Why exactly is he handing the entirety of the power of the Legislative Branch over to a man who is being investigated for being a Russian Asset? What is he gaining from these actions? Does Russia have something on him? Please. His wife is in Trump’s Cabinet, so the insane amounts of graft possible are all the motive needed. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5432 "2019-01-13T04:23:17Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > On this very note, I think McConnell should be investigated. Why exactly is he handing the entirety of the power of the Legislative Branch over to a man who is being investigated for being a Russian Asset? What is he gaining from these actions? Does Russia have something on him? Money, and lots of it, from one Leonard Blavatnik.[See this article,](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/03/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-gop-campaigns) and [the one it links to.](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/12/15/putins-proxies-helped-funnel-millions-gop-campaigns) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump and the political action committees for Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Lindsey Graham, John Kasich and John McCain accepted $7.35 million in contributions from a Ukrainian-born oligarch who is the business partner of two of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s favorite oligarchs and a Russian government bank. > > During the 2015-2016 election season, Ukrainian-born billionaire Leonard “Len” Blavatnik contributed $6.35 million to leading Republican candidates and incumbent senators. Mitch McConnell was the top recipient of Blavatnik’s donations, collecting $2.5 million for his GOP Senate Leadership Fund under the names of two of Blavatnik’s holding companies, Access Industries and AI Altep Holdings, according to Federal Election Commission documents and [OpenSecrets.org](http://OpenSecrets.org). Emphasis mine. ---
**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 13, 2019, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5433 "2019-01-13T04:46:18Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > Money, and lots of it, from one Leonard Blavatnik.[See this article,](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/03/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-gop-campaigns) and [the one it links to.](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/12/15/putins-proxies-helped-funnel-millions-gop-campaigns) > Emphasis mine. Well. Russians are just up in our top government officials’ asses all over the place, aren’t they? I don’t undo my ad blocker so was unable to view your links. I was curious why they show up in opinion/commentary rather than as regular news. But assuming the underlying assertions are correct (and I have no reason to doubt them), what you quoted sure starts to bring the whole big ugly picture into focus. What do we do if all the major players at the top of our government are in league with Russia and its interests over the interests of our own country? I genuinely do not have any idea how we can proceed. Mitch McConnell is leader of the Senate? Lindsey Graham is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee? Just… holy shit. ETA: I’m starting to think Mueller may have to file indictments because what other choice can he have? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5434 "2019-01-13T05:22:29Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > What do we do if all the major players at the top of our government are in league with Russia and its interests over the interests of our own country? **Karl Radek:** Vladimir Ilyich, where are we going to get enough rope to hang the whole bourgeoisie? **Vladimir Ilyich Lenin:** They will sell it to us themselves. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5435 "2019-01-13T07:20:11Z")
We should be careful about overreach, setting our sights to high. If Trump and Pence simultaneously remove themselves so that Speaker Pelosi may assume the Presidency, we should modestly content ourselves with the outcome. An execution would be unseemly and crude, while a Walk of Shame would be positively disgusting. ---
**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 13, 2019, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5436 "2019-01-13T07:57:07Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > We should be careful about overreach, setting our sights to high. If Trump and Pence simultaneously remove themselves so that Speaker Pelosi may assume the Presidency, we should modestly content ourselves with the outcome. An execution would be unseemly and crude, while a Walk of Shame would be positively disgusting. Ew, I forgot that particular aspect of the last election. I mean, I have no strong opposition to Pelosi, but all of the people who would be upset that Trump and Pence were removed from office, but accepting that it’s necessary in light of the facts (as there would need to be some pretty strong facts to bring that about), would suddenly have all of their moderation fly out the window and go ape-shit at the prospect of a President Pelosi. I hope that factoid remains largely unspoken as whatever chaos is about to unfold, starts to unfold. ---
**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 13, 2019, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5437 "2019-01-13T12:05:10Z")
Who is after Pelosi in the succession? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5438 "2019-01-13T12:09:25Z")
President Pro Tempore of the Senate; Chuck Grassley ---
**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 13, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5439 "2019-01-13T12:15:42Z")
Theoretically, I would imagine, the House could re-elect a different Speaker if they felt like they needed to put someone else in. But, that said, I’m reasonably sure that we’ll end up with a President Pence before the year has ended and that he’ll stay through as a new little bundle of joy and goodness on all of our hearts until 2020. ---
**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 13, 2019, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5440 "2019-01-13T12:20:54Z")
If it really does hit the fan in a bad way, I think there could be some really severe turbulence and even some civil unrest. I am even starting to think it may not be out of the question for Trump to defect. We are not dealing with a normal mind here. Could deals be made to have the Presidency passed down the line with eligible people agreeing to step aside until it lands on some compromise candidate? A highly divisive new President would probably not help a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5441 "2019-01-13T12:27:26Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Theoretically, I would imagine, the House could re-elect a different Speaker if they felt like they needed to put someone else in. > > But, that said, I’m reasonably sure that we’ll end up with a President Pence before the year has ended and that he’ll stay through as a new little bundle of joy and goodness on all of our hearts until 2020. I bet Trump would run for president again anyway. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5442 "2019-01-13T13:19:04Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I bet Trump would run for president again anyway. The scary thing is, even if his support collapses to the point where 20 or more GOP Senators vote to remove him from office, his fan base still might be large enough to win him the 2020 GOP nomination. Even if he’s been indicted, which would surely happen pretty quickly after he was removed. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5443 "2019-01-13T13:24:04Z")
In which case, the Democrat (whoever it is) would be running unopposed. A judgement of impeachment not only removes someone from office, it disqualifies them from future office. Well, technically, it doesn’t have to, but it can, and I can’t imagine the circumstances under which one would be applied but not the other. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5444 "2019-01-13T13:30:44Z")
“Judge Jeannine” Pirro, [interviewing Trump on Fox](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-no-would-have-been-helpful-here): Pirro: “Do you now or have you ever worked for Russia, Mr. President?” Trump: “I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked…” (goes on for a good while without ever saying ‘No’) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=271) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=273)