# 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:** 50
**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 14, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/983 "2017-07-14T14:22:18Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > “Former” intelligence officer. > > Thread title can officially be changed now. Strike the “may.” > [@](#): > > The lobbyist, who denies any **current** ties to Russian spy agencies, accompanied the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower attended by Donald Trump Jr.; Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law; and Paul Manafort, former chairman of the Trump campaign. Bolding mine. ---
**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 14, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/984 "2017-07-14T14:23:55Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > “Former” intelligence officer. And five days later, the DNC was attacked by hackers on behalf of Russia’s intelligence agency. ---
**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 14, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/985 "2017-07-14T14:26:37Z")
“In the world of Russian intelligence, there is no such thing as a ‘former intelligence officer.’ So in my opinion you had a member of Putin’s secret police directly meeting with the son of the future next president of the United States asking to change US sanctions policy crucial to Putin.” - [William Browder, the founder of the investment advisory firm Hermitage Capital who spearheaded the Magnitsky Act](http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jr-meeting-natalia-veselnitskaya-rinat-akhmetshin-2017-7) ---
**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 14, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/986 "2017-07-14T14:32:21Z")
“There is no such thing as a former KGB man." - Vladimir Putin, 2004 ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/987 "2017-07-14T14:32:28Z")
That’s it. Trump is now doomed! That Don Jr.'s meeting with a lobbyist for Russia (a US citizen, but who’s counting) seals it! Because I am sure that’s the first time that lobbyist met with anyone connected to the US government in any way. That’s what “lobbyist” means - someone who never meets with anyone in the government. Pathetic. ---
**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 14, 2017, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/988 "2017-07-14T14:37:33Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Bolding mine. I don’t get why you bolded that. Denying current ties to intelligence agencies is what a former intelligence officer would do, no? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/989 "2017-07-14T14:40:06Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > That’s it. Trump is now doomed! That Don Jr.'s meeting with a lobbyist for Russia (a US citizen, but who’s counting) seals it! Because I am sure that’s the first time that lobbyist met with anyone connected to the US government in any way. That’s what “lobbyist” means - someone who never meets with anyone in the government. > > Pathetic. It’s not that key members of the Trump campaign met with Russians and their lobbyists. It that they repeatedly LIED about it and that they continue to lie about it while pretending to come clean. What’s not clear about that?? Given how patholigically they lie, you’d think they’d be better at it by now. Pathetic, indeed. ---
**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 14, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/990 "2017-07-14T14:44:45Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I don’t get why you bolded that. Denying current ties to intelligence agencies is what a former intelligence officer would do, no? Correct. There are some here in this very thread though, who seem to think that this guy was “just a lobbyist! That’s all! An innocent little lobbyist!” It is to laugh. ---
**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 14, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/991 "2017-07-14T14:45:46Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Just curious- why would the US give him citizenship? Probably Obama’s fault. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/992 "2017-07-14T14:48:08Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > It’s not that key members of the Trump campaign met with Russians and their lobbyists. It that they repeatedly LIED about it and that they continue to lie about it while pretending to come clean. > > What’s not clear about that?? > > Given how patholigically they lie, you’d think they’d be better at it by now. Pathetic, indeed. His post also overlooks the fact that TrumpCo was _not_ the government at the time, and given what we know about the meeting based on who participated in it and the descriptions of what was discussed (to the extent those representations can even be trusted), the purpose of the meeting was to collude with a hostile foreign government to defeat Hillary Clinton in the election, in exchange for sanctions to be lifted that were imposed by the legitimate Obama government. Illegal as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/993 "2017-07-14T14:50:57Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > His post also overlooks the fact that TrumpCo was _not_ the government at the time, and given what we know about the meeting based on who participated in it and the descriptions of what was discussed (to the extent those representations can even be trusted), the purpose of the meeting was to collude with a hostile foreign government to defeat Hillary Clinton in the election, in exchange for sanctions to be lifted that were imposed by the legitimate Obama government. > > Illegal as hell. “Illegal as hell”? How sure are you of that? 'Cuz I have a $100 burning a hole in my pocket and I offered to take anyone up on a bet that anyone will be indicted over this meeting. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/994 "2017-07-14T14:56:42Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > “Illegal as hell”? How sure are you of that? 'Cuz I have a $100 burning a hole in my pocket and I offered to take anyone up on a bet that anyone will be indicted over this meeting. I’m not interested in your stupid bet for reasons that have nothing to do with my certainty of the illegal nature of the behavior of the players. Please stop harassing me over it as if it is the only measure of legitimacy of my holding a particular opinion. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/995 "2017-07-14T15:08:16Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > “Illegal as hell”? How sure are you of that? 'Cuz I have a $100 burning a hole in my pocket and I offered to take anyone up on a bet that anyone will be indicted over this meeting. If it were truly burning a hole in your pocket, you’d have taken my bet several pages ago. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/996 "2017-07-14T15:10:09Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > If it were truly burning a hole in your pocket, you’d have taken my bet several pages ago. Not on the same subject. As I explained, I choose my bets so I don’t lose them. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/997 "2017-07-14T15:12:31Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > “Illegal as hell”? How sure are you of that? 'Cuz I have a $100 burning a hole in my pocket and I offered to take anyone up on a bet that anyone will be indicted over this meeting. Burning a hole so badly that you haven’t followed up on my acceptance of it? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/998 "2017-07-14T15:13:29Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > “Illegal as hell”? How sure are you of that? 'Cuz I have a $100 burning a hole in my pocket and I offered to take anyone up on a bet that anyone will be indicted over this meeting. Address the fucking point that Trump&Co LIED and continue to LIE about it. And if you do, resist the temptation to change the subject and bring up HRC and her campaign. If they conducted themselves in such a manner then that would be equally wrong and deserving of criticism and investigation for potential illegal practice. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/999 "2017-07-14T15:13:43Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Burning a hole so badly that you haven’t followed up on my acceptance of it? I did. I accepted the deal. I am waiting for Bricker to agree to hold the money. Unless you want some other type of arrangement. ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1000 "2017-07-14T15:18:41Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > That’s it. Trump is now doomed! That Don Jr.'s meeting with a lobbyist for Russia (a US citizen, but who’s counting) seals it! Because I am sure that’s the first time that lobbyist met with anyone connected to the US government in any way. That’s what “lobbyist” means - someone who never meets with anyone in the government. > > Pathetic. I find your responses in this thread both frustrating and bewildering. Trump and people close to trump have repeatedly lied about who they’ve met, and continue to lie about who they’ve met. They repeatedly fail to disclose these individuals on incredibly important security paperwork. They’re STILL trying to hide who they’ve met. As these revelations come out, they’ve changed their stories time and again. If it’s no big deal, why are they lying so much? You might feel compelled to respond to each point, line by line, but I’d ask you to consider answering these questions instead: are you 100% okay with everything that’s come out about this story? Do you find nothing suspicious about the president and people close to the president’s behavior as it pertains to these secret meetings? Is there any revelation that would make you say “this might be a bad thing”? ---
**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:** [July 14, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1001 "2017-07-14T15:18:53Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1002 "2017-07-14T15:22:07Z")
> [@Astral\_Rejection](#): > > I find your responses in this thread both frustrating and bewildering. Trump and people close to trump have repeatedly lied about who they’ve met, and continue to lie about who they’ve met. They repeatedly fail to disclose these individuals on incredibly important security paperwork. They’re STILL trying to hide who they’ve met. As these revelations come out, they’ve changed their stories time and again. If it’s no big deal, why are they lying so much? > > You might feel compelled to respond to each point, line by line, but I’d ask you to consider answering these questions instead: are you 100% okay with everything that’s come out about this story? Do you find nothing suspicious about the president and people close to the president’s behavior as it pertains to these secret meetings? Is there any revelation that would make you say “this might be a bad thing”? No, I find nothing suspicious at all. There were literally hundreds if not thousands of meetings, and this was a dud, which is probably why it was not immediately remembered. If, as promised, the lawyer was bringing proof, from Russians, that they were funding DNC and Hillary, it would have been a success. A smashing success, actually. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=49) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=51)