# 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:** 46
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/903 "2017-07-12T20:19:18Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > A man Trump’s age has less than a 98% of _still being alive_ on January 1, 2019. I’ll give Trump a few tenths extra because there is no evidence he has cancer, but conversely he is quite overweight so the cancer credit offset by the chance he has a heart attack that either kills him or is bad enough to cause him to be unable to continue being President. > > You might want to clarify the nature of the bet; nobody’s point is proven is Trump keels over from a heart attack. Hey, Donald Trump is the healthiest president ever. Or something like that. But seriously, his parents lived to 93 & 88 respectively, which is a much better predictor than things like being overweight. You never know, of course, but his chances healthwise are pretty good. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/904 "2017-07-12T20:29:57Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Well, atheists might have some explaining to do. The man’s old and unhealthy. It happens. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/905 "2017-07-12T20:30:51Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Hey, Donald Trump is the healthiest president ever. Or something like that. > > But seriously, his parents lived to 93 & 88 respectively, which is a much better predictor than things like being overweight. You never know, of course, but his chances healthwise are pretty good. Longevity of your ancestors does have some weight when it comes to your own longevity, but how you take care of your body matters more. Were his parents as obese as he is, with the same pretty terrible diet? ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/906 "2017-07-12T20:51:58Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Longevity of your ancestors does have some weight when it comes to your own longevity, but how you take care of your body matters more. I don’t think that’s true, other than extreme cases. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/907 "2017-07-12T21:05:38Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > This week, in a nutshell: > > Wow, Donald Trump, Jr. killed a hooker.\* > _You don’t have any evidence of that._ > They found the dead hooker in the trunk of his car, with a knife and his prints. > _That doesn’t prove anything._ > And six more dead hookers in his basement. > _Can you prove that he even knew about those? You can’t._ > What about the three-camera HD video of him killing the hooker? > _I don’t think that’s even him in the video._ > But he brought in a studio audience. Their tickets said “Watch Donald Trump, Jr. Kill a Hooker”. > _I’m not sure it’s even illegal to kill a hooker._ > Then he published that editorial in the Washington Post, “It Was Definitely Illegal When I Killed That Hooker”. > _FAKE NEWS!!!_ > And he recorded that single, “I Sure Do Love Killing Hookers”. > _What about all the hookers Hillary has killed? That’s the real story._ > > - I’m not saying that Donald Trump, Jr. has killed a bunch of hookers, but you can’t tell me you’d be surprised. I’d would say that this entire post would qualify as fake news, if it had come from one of those allegedly reliable main stream news sources. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/908 "2017-07-12T21:08:41Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I’d would say that this entire post would qualify as fake news, if it had come from one of those allegedly reliable main stream news sources. Yes, if a reputable news source published an obviously sarcastic description of Trump killing prostitutes and claimed it was a real story, that would be fake news. Your logic is impeccable. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/909 "2017-07-12T21:10:29Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I’ll take that if no one else wants it and you arrange a way to broker it. I’ll even slightly sweeten it by adding an “all bets off” for death (which the way you’re phrasing it would unfairly be a loss for you). > > (Editing to indicate that I don’t mean to step in and steal a bet if the original people involved in conversation want to jump in! Only if others out.) Good. Let’s get Bricker in - you and I send the $ to him. He disburses it on Jan 1, 2019. ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/910 "2017-07-12T21:10:32Z")
You know, from the start I fully accepted that the Russians interfered in the election and I was in the middle on the Trump campaign’s involvement, in that I was willing to see where the evidence took things and what it showed before I passed complete judgement on Trump’s potential involvement. At some point, given all the lying and squirrely behavior in terms of meeting Russians, I figured people like Flynn and probably Manafort were up to their eyeballs but I tried to maintain a middle course that peripheral actors did some things but maybe Trump didn’t know but did try to derail the investigation, though I was starting to think he was more involved than I initially thought. But geeze, I never figured that one of his kids was in the middle of it. This changes the whole course of the investigations, though I think we’re just at the beginning of it. I will say though, as others have pointed out, this all seems a little too pat, like the Russians or the publicist friend who set up the meeting set up Don Jr. The rather explicit verbiage of receiving info from the Russians just seems too explicit if they were trying to keep things secrets. Plus, the pop singer and his dad have denied any knowledge of any of this and the lady Russian lawyer says she was just there about adoptions, so she may have been a patsy. But we still have Don Jr. willing and able to receive the info. The unanswered questions include did Don Jr or the publicist follow up with each other about this? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/911 "2017-07-12T21:23:12Z")
> [@computergeek](#): > > Russian lawyer says she was just there about adoptions Which would bring this mess back to possibly being sent by Putin to discuss the repealing of the Magnitsky Act, signed by Obama, should Big Daddy get himself elected. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/912 "2017-07-12T21:29:03Z")
It’s written that way (“too pat”) because: 1. It’s a put-up job. It’s fake, the entire email chain. 2. The Russians made it explicit so they would have a genuine sword hanging over DJTjr’s head. 3. The Russians made it explicit because they think DJTjr is a complete idiot who needs things spelled out in complete detail. Take your pick. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/913 "2017-07-12T21:50:19Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I don’t think that’s true, other than extreme cases. Extreme cases, like living a completely different lifestyle than your parents did? Trump’s parents did not have access to taco bowls. People tended to live a similar lifespan to their parents because they also tended to live a similar lifestyle. Now, I hope that that is true, as all of my ancestors on this side of the last century died in their 90’s or early 100’s, so I wouldn’t mind getting some of that action myself. But, I did smoke for nearly 20 years, I don’t eat all that healthy, and my exercise “regime” has been overthrown by protesters. I don’t know that I’m gonna make it quite as far down the track as they did. I’ve never really heard the theory before that it doesn’t really matter what you do with your body, and that it is mostly how long your ancestors lived that determine your longevity. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/914 "2017-07-12T21:53:29Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I’d would say that this entire post would qualify as fake news, if it had come from one of those allegedly reliable main stream news sources. Sure. World Net Daily is the only source you can believe; “Obama Building ‘FEMA Concentration Camps’” "Gays Behind the Holocaust and Preparing to Lead the Next One " “Norway Terrorist Attacks a ‘Fabrication’ by the Victims” ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/915 "2017-07-12T21:54:13Z")
> [@computergeek](#): > > You know, from the start I fully accepted that the Russians interfered in the election and I was in the middle on the Trump campaign’s involvement, in that I was willing to see where the evidence took things and what it showed before I passed complete judgement on Trump’s potential involvement. At some point, given all the lying and squirrely behavior in terms of meeting Russians, I figured people like Flynn and probably Manafort were up to their eyeballs but I tried to maintain a middle course that peripheral actors did some things but maybe Trump didn’t know but did try to derail the investigation, though I was starting to think he was more involved than I initially thought. But geeze, I never figured that one of his kids was in the middle of it. This changes the whole course of the investigations, though I think we’re just at the beginning of it. > > I will say though, as others have pointed out, this all seems a little too pat, like the Russians or the publicist friend who set up the meeting set up Don Jr. The rather explicit verbiage of receiving info from the Russians just seems too explicit if they were trying to keep things secrets. Plus, the pop singer and his dad have denied any knowledge of any of this and the lady Russian lawyer says she was just there about adoptions, so she may have been a patsy. But we still have Don Jr. willing and able to receive the info. The unanswered questions include did Don Jr or the publicist follow up with each other about this? This is Putin playing one of the cards in his hand. He has material on all in the trump family and administration, and just released this little tidbit, just enough to get junior in trouble, to get his minion trump back in line. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/916 "2017-07-12T22:04:57Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > This is Putin playing one of the cards in his hand. > > He has material on all in the trump family and administration, and just released this little tidbit, just enough to get junior in trouble, to get his minion trump back in line. Maybe. What do you expect this getting “back in line” is going to consist of? ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/917 "2017-07-12T22:24:27Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Maybe. What do you expect this getting “back in line” is going to consist of? Peddling Trump Brand Vodka. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/918 "2017-07-12T22:51:46Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Well, atheists might have some explaining to do. Maybe the full Herod’s Curse, what with the worms, the boils, the maggots, the whole nine cubits? Checkmate, atheists! ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/919 "2017-07-13T10:29:04Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > It’s like watching House of Cards, but instead of the Underwoods, it’s the Bluths. Stolen. Facebooked. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/920 "2017-07-13T11:07:59Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > You might want to clarify the nature of the bet; nobody’s point is proven [if] Trump keels over from a heart attack. > [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Well, atheists might have some explaining to do. Meh. Heart attack fairy. I already sent my letter to the North Pole. With a whole LIST of houses I want him to visit. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2017, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/921 "2017-07-13T11:25:52Z")
BTW, I get that, broadly speaking, it’s illegal for a campaign to solicit or accept material assistance from foreign sources. Is it likewise illegal for a foreign national to offer or provide it? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/922 "2017-07-13T12:28:44Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > Can you elaborate, what exactly is wrong with Trump campaign officials meeting with someone who claims that she “has information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms. Clinton”? > > It would be a dereliction of duty NOT to meet with such a person. And if that information actually checked out, it would be a dereliction of duty NOT to publish it. > > Wouldn’t you say? Is this to be Junior’s defense? Out of curiosity, **Okrahoma** , do you believe that assisting law enforcement was his motive? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=45) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=47)