# 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:** 54
**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, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1063 "2017-07-14T18:05:17Z")
> [@rock\_party](#): > > It’s amazing that some take Jr’s word at face value. Like he’s trustworthy, and has no reason to outright lie to avoid the upcoming shitstorm. Yes, there is evidence: The Russians DID hack our system, DID spam with phony pro-Trump/anti Hillary “articles”. ALL for the benefit of Trump. Let that sink in…they were working for Trump for sure. I’m pretty confident that this does not matter one little bit to the Trump core supporters. In fact, I fully expect a conversation like this in the future: Me: “Well, we now have proof that the Trump campaign worked directly with the Russian government to spam social media with directed phoney websites and articles attacking Hillary. All so they could get Trump elected.” Trump supporter: “No! It’s all fake! Made up!” Me: “But this came directly from Trump himself. He admitted it yesterday. In writing. And included documents that proved it” TS: "It wasn’t the Russian government! It was “lobbyists” Me: “Lobbyists who work for the Russian government” TS: “Who cares? Nobody cares! It wasn’t illegal!” Me: “So you see nothing wrong with the Russian government being given Republican Party voter information, so they could specifically target voter groups with false information, in order to put Trump in the whitehouse?” TS: “Not illegal! Not illegal!” ---
**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, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1064 "2017-07-14T18:09:44Z")
The future is now. ---
**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 14, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1065 "2017-07-14T18:15:52Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > The future is now. Not anymore. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1066 "2017-07-14T18:20:19Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Me: “So you see nothing wrong with the Russian government being given Republican Party voter information, so they could specifically target voter groups with false information, in order to put Trump in the whitehouse?” > > TS: “Not illegal! Not illegal!” Again, I must point out that no Trumpist will actually say what the line would be that, if crossed, would cause them to rethink their position - because deep down, they know the line probably has been crossed. ---
**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, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1067 "2017-07-14T18:26:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > **Bricker** , of course, being the ultimate legal authority. > > Time for a big Eeeeeeeyeahrite. No he’s not the ultimate legal authority. However none of the law professors I’ve seen quoted that say this meeting was a violation address the reasonable First Amendment implications Bricker brought up nor point to a legal precedent where the law was applied to a similar case. So far, I’m leaning heavily towards Bricker’s interpretation despite not being a Trump fan. ---
**Author:** ![quimper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7c8e57/32.png) [@quimper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quimper)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1068 "2017-07-14T18:36:54Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > The future is now. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > Not anymore. [When will then be now?](https://youtu.be/5drjr9PmTMA?t=75) ---
**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 14, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1069 "2017-07-14T18:41:04Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Again, I must point out that no Trumpist will actually say what the line would be that, if crossed, would cause them to _ **rethink** _ their position - because deep down, they know the line probably has been crossed. My bold. You are assuming that they thought their way into their current position. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1070 "2017-07-14T18:43:03Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Dear God, we’ve reached a point where Charles Krauthammer is talking sense. He’s evil, not stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1071 "2017-07-14T18:53:19Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > Any evidence of that whatsoever? No. Zero. Nada. It’s TOTALLY MADE UP. Now that I’ve stipulated that, please go back and respond to the essence of the post, not the aside note. Namely, we’ve got a dude telling Trump Jr. that a Russian lawyer has incriminating information. Trump Jr. denied any such meeting for a long time, then claimed it was about adoption. Now he’s saying the meeting didn’t contain the information it was reputed to contain. Do you have any evidence besides Jr.'s claim that that’s true? ---
**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, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1072 "2017-07-14T18:55:44Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > No. Zero. Nada. It’s TOTALLY MADE UP. > > Now that I’ve stipulated that, please go back and respond to the essence of the post, not the aside note. Namely, we’ve got a dude telling Trump Jr. that a Russian lawyer has incriminating information. Trump Jr. denied any such meeting for a long time, then claimed it was about adoption. Now he’s saying the meeting didn’t contain the information it was reputed to contain. > > Do you have any evidence besides Jr.'s claim that that’s true? Clarify: That what’s true? That the meeting didn’t contain what information? ---
**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, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1073 "2017-07-14T18:59:57Z")
Don’t worry. I am sure the Russian contingent taped the meeting so someone just has to send FOIA request Putin’s way and we’ll get the answers by and by. ---
**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, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1074 "2017-07-14T19:11:02Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Sure, it’s unlikely there was info on criminal misdeeds, since it’s unlikely there were criminal misdeeds. But it seems very plausible at this point that some information about DNC emails was exchanged at this meeting. Or a promise to _get_ information via the DNC’s own computers. ---
**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, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1075 "2017-07-14T19:13:18Z")
[House Democrats want to know why a major Russian money-laundering case was abruptly settled](http://www.businessinsider.com/why-was-russian-money-laundering-case-dismissed-house-dems-2017-7) Drip. The name Natalia Veselnitskaya should be familiar. > [@](#): > > That attorney, Natalia Veselnitskaya, represents the family of Pyotr Katsyv, the former vice governor of the Moscow region, whose son, Denis, owns the real-estate company Prevezon. The DOJ had been investigating whether Prevezon laundered millions of dollars through New York City real estate when the case was unexpectedly settled two days before going to trial in May. > [@](#): > > Democrats now want to know whether Veselnitskaya was “involved at any point in the settlement negotiations,” and they have asked Sessions to provide the committee “with the prosecution files and any other explanatory materials related to the settlement.” > > They also want to know whether there was “any contact between President Trump, White House personnel, the Trump family, or the Trump campaign with the Department of Justice” regarding Prevezon, and whether Sessions discussed the case “with anyone associated with the transition team,” or with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, while he was being considered for attorney general. ---
**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, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1076 "2017-07-14T19:32:47Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > [House Democrats want to know why a major Russian money-laundering case was abruptly settled](http://www.businessinsider.com/why-was-russian-money-laundering-case-dismissed-house-dems-2017-7) > > Drip. > The name Natalia Veselnitskaya should be familiar. Isn’t she that Russian Crown Prosecutor? Why would a Russian Crown Prosecutor be acting as a defense attorney for a real estate company in a DOJ case? Most strange. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1077 "2017-07-14T19:33:06Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > [House Democrats want to know why a major Russian money-laundering case was abruptly settled](http://www.businessinsider.com/why-was-russian-money-laundering-case-dismissed-house-dems-2017-7) > > Drip. > The name Natalia Veselnitskaya should be familiar. I haven’t read all the posts in the last few days, so someone may have already cited this, but I thought this was timely, especially coming from Rep. Trey Gowdey (R-SC): > [@](#): > > Someone close to the president needs to get everything connected with that campaign in a room. > > And say from the time you saw Doctor Zhivago until the moment you drank vodka with a guy name Boris, you list every single one of those, and we are going to turn them over to the special counsel. Because this drip, drip, drip is undermining the credibility of the administration." ---
**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, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1078 "2017-07-14T19:39:37Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Isn’t she that Russian Crown Prosecutor? Why would a Russian Crown Prosecutor be acting as a defense attorney for a real estate company in a DOJ case? Most strange. No. I can’t tell if you are seriously confused, or you are trying to be funny. Let me know if you actually want to know, or if I should give you a golf clap. ---
**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, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1079 "2017-07-14T19:41:09Z")
Golf clap, please. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1080 "2017-07-14T19:43:21Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > No he’s not the ultimate legal authority. However none of the law professors I’ve seen quoted that say this meeting was a violation address the reasonable First Amendment implications Bricker brought up nor point to a legal precedent where the law was applied to a similar case. So far, I’m leaning heavily towards Bricker’s interpretation despite not being a Trump fan. You’re both assuming that the meeting can be attributed solely to ‘political speech.’ The constantly-changing details, lies and stories about the meeting aside, I’m not even close to buying that line of argument. ---
**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, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1081 "2017-07-14T19:46:39Z")
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**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, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1082 "2017-07-14T19:47:45Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Isn’t she that Russian Crown Prosecutor? Why would a Russian Crown Prosecutor be acting as a defense attorney for a real estate company in a DOJ case? Most strange. I am shocked that a Russian with Kremlin ties might misrepresent themselves in dealing with pop music producers seeking to arrange meetings to meddle in American politics! I’m so shocked that my monocle just fell out! ETA: your post really could use a footnote that “Russian Crown Prosecutor” isn’t a real position. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=53) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=55)