# 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:** 61
**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 15, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1203 "2017-07-15T19:50:33Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > I agree 100%. This is the point I’ve tried to make in the rare instance I post in these threads. The USA can survive Trump. He’s an incompetent buffoon out to enrich himself and embiggen his brand. The USA can survive the GOP implementing their agenda, in fact, that’s kind of the point of having an election. The GOP should be able to implement their agenda, they’ve won repeatedly in many areas over several elections (yeah yeah caveats, gerrymandering, etc). What the USA cannot survive is if foreign propaganda can be used to sway your election and if there’s no repercussions for a political party/individual using a foreign power to do so. The amount of indifference to this is… stunning to me. I’m a child of the 70s/80s, and to me the USA was always the place of liberty and democracy. That Americans more than anything else in the world loved their country and would DIE before seeing it disgraced and trampled upon. Now there’s 38% (roughly) of Americans who are like “Meh. Whatever. At least we won. Better than Hillary.” It is so different from the USA I used to know and it really is remarkable. When Trump said during his election said they should just cancel the election and declare me the winner, I thought for sure that was it. There’s no way an American candidate could even joke about cancelling an election. When he called out to Russia to find the emails, I thought FOR SURE, that was it. Surely no American is going to be ok with a Presidential candidate calling out to a foreign power. But nope, nothing. And that’s the biggest threat to the USA right now, total indifference so long as your side wins (and yes that true for the Democrats as well where applicable). You are so right. Well said. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I think that’s going to be the final “drip” that seals their fate. And yet, there will be Trump supporters who will say that there is nothing wrong with doing this, that “everyone does it” and that it’s probably all Hillary’s/Obama’s fault anyway. > > But a bunch of people will be spending time in jail. Many of them for the cover-up. If there is only this one final “drip,” that’s acceptable – but I’m quite convinced there is so, so, so much more. Trump has been active in Russia for decades. His funding is well known to be from corrupt banks (Credit Suisse) and Russia. He’s repeatedly shown he has no problems bending rules and breaking laws to accomplish his selfish goals. He lies reflexively and can’t seem to help himself. My hope is that Mueller & Team use only what they have/need to in order to get him impeached – and that they save most of their prosecutions of Trump’s racketeering, money laundering/tax evasion schemes for when he and his corrupt administration are safely out of office. Otherwise he’ll just pardon everyone involved. Including himself, I wouldn’t doubt. I agree many others will be in jeopardy for their participation in the cover up. I notice fewer and fewer are stepping forward with full-throated defenses. Not everyone can afford big time, high priced lawyers to defend against charges of obstruction. ---
**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 15, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1204 "2017-07-15T19:54:05Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It needs to be put this explicitly for those who continue to misunderstand things, and think “It’s OK because everyone does it” I don’t think it does and I still think Aspenglow is probably the not the guy to be spelling out how the law works. ---
**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 15, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1205 "2017-07-15T20:04:37Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > You are so right. Well said. > > If there is only this one final “drip,” that’s acceptable – but I’m quite convinced there is so, so, so much more. Trump has been active in Russia for decades. His funding is well known to be from corrupt banks (Credit Suisse) and Russia. He’s repeatedly shown he has no problems bending rules and breaking laws to accomplish his selfish goals. He lies reflexively and can’t seem to help himself. > > My hope is that Mueller & Team use only what they have/need to in order to get him impeached – and that they save most of their prosecutions of Trump’s racketeering, money laundering/tax evasion schemes for when he and his corrupt administration are safely out of office. Otherwise he’ll just pardon everyone involved. Including himself, I wouldn’t doubt. > > I agree many others will be in jeopardy for their participation in the cover up. I notice fewer and fewer are stepping forward with full-throated defenses. Not everyone can afford big time, high priced lawyers to defend against charges of obstruction. Well, Trump can issue a pre-emptive pardon of anyone he likes, including himself, whenever he wants. If he’s concerned about doing that while he’s under investigation or still in the Oval Office, he can do it on the last day he is in office. Further, I would hate to see Mueller play a game like that and work contrary to the charter he was given by the US government. YMMV, but it’s a slippery slope to start down that path. The Ring of Power can’t be used for good, and it’s a mistake to try and do so. We need folks like Mueller to be the straightest of straight arrows. These guys are professionals, and woe be it unto the Trumpsters who try and beat them at their own game. I say let them do their jobs and let the chips fall where they may. ---
**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 15, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1206 "2017-07-15T20:19:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > There are a number of problems with that analysis: > > 1. Hillary was trying to win the popular vote and Trump was not. > > 2. See number 1. That was a stupid move for HRC to make, and really good campaigns don’t make stupid moves like that. > > 3. If these people who were so easily influenced by fake news are so easily targeted, why wasn’t HRC’s campaign targeting them, too? A really good campaign would have done that. > > 4. This meeting was in the summer of 2016, but HRC never had a particularly commanding lead in the polls even before that. Call it bad campaigning or a bad candidate, but it’s hard to separate the two. > > 5. It’s not good enough to run a “pretty good campaign” if you have a candidate like Hillary. And let’s not forget that she lost the nomination in 2008 to Obama when she started with what looked like an impossible-to-beat lead. Lots and lots and lots of Americans just don’t like her. And she was an establishment candidate in a change election. Seriously, could Bernie have done so well against someone else? > I supported Bernie, but I’m not in the least certain he would have beaten Trump. I think someone like Biden might have been able to, but Bernie had his definite weaknesses outside the Democratic base (as did Trump outside his base). As I said, people can quibble about how Hillary ran her campaign and that’s why I said that. I’m not interested in re-litigating that issue in this thread or any other. I watched those campaigns like a hawk, drew my own conclusions, and while I believe points about Hillary’s failures were well made in other parts of this forum, it’s water under the bridge now. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > If that’s the case, and I’d be surprised if it was, then yes, their goose is cooked. Why would you be surprised? The actual known facts line up rather prettily with this conclusion. The meeting was held. In fact, many meetings were held, both inside and outside our borders. More than two people attended. We know that members of the highest level of Trump’s campaign were informed of and attended that meeting. We know Trump started talking about Hillary’s “30,000 emails” practically within minutes of that meeting. We know Trump was in Trump Tower on the day of that meeting. Moreover, he had a meeting with Paul Manafort at noon on the day that meeting took place. We don’t _yet_ have direct evidence that an agreement was reached or information exchanged, but we do know that Russians did hack our elections, and that certain types of voters that could only be known by informed Americans working inside campaigns were targeted with specific, fake derogatory information through their successful hacking efforts. For now, all we have are the ever-changing stories of Mini-Don and the “Russian government lawyer” about what happened in that meeting. But that’s not the end of it. I think Manafort has flipped already and it won’t be hard to find another attendee who will corroborate his testimony if it turns out to be something different than what Don Jr. has said. We know that Trump and his cohorts have done all they can to hide evidence that such meetings occurred and have not been forthcoming with any evidence that would tend to exonerate them. In fact, just the opposite. Every time they talk, they look more guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Trafalgar\_Laura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trafalgar_laura/32/2907_2.png) [@Trafalgar\_Laura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trafalgar_Laura)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1207 "2017-07-15T20:24:06Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > [1996 United States campaign finance controversy - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_United_States_campaign_finance_controversy) > > The Wikipedia article doesn’t mention it, but I understand that some laws were enacted by Congress after this to tighten up what all help could be given by a foreign state to a campaign, and that’s one of the laws that Trump’s people are liable to get prosecuted under. Thanks for the explanation! ---
**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:** [July 15, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1208 "2017-07-15T20:25:10Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > My bet: DJT himself was in that meeting at some point. Certainly that would help explain the failure to disclose that the Russian lawyer wasn’t the only person meeting with Don Jr., Kushner, and Manafort. The presence of others has been revealed, and at least one of those we now know to have been present—the supposedly ‘not connected to the R. gov’t at all!’ lobbyist for Russian interests, Rinat Akhmetshin—can, as a US citizen, be subpoenaed. > [@](#): > > “Mueller could subpoena Trump, Jr., Kushner, and Manafort, but if they all told the same story or said they didn’t remember what happened, Mueller would have no way of independently verifying their accounts of the meeting,” Miller continued. “Now there are two other people who were in the meeting who may not have the same incentives to protect the president, or who, at the very least, may not be willing to risk perjury to do so.” [Donald Trump Jr. Meeting May Provide Mueller an 'Independent Account' - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jr-meeting-robert-mueller-rinat-akhmetshin-2017-7) (The “Miller” is Matthew Miller, a former Justice Department spokesman.) The more people who were in that meeting, the more likely that we’ll ultimately find out things that Don Jr. et al were trying to hide–including possible attendance, in person or via a speakerphone set-up, of DJT. Another interesting element: usually after any meeting there will be some email exchanges that discuss or refer to the meeting. We haven’t seen any of those, yet. Obviously DJT won’t have been cc’d----he, famously, doesn’t use email. But it wouldn’t be terribly surprising if the emails contain some mentions of what DJT thought of the whole thing. Evidence that DJT knew about the meeting at the time would, naturally, be something that the Trump camp would like to keep hidden. ---
**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 15, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1209 "2017-07-15T20:26:44Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Well, Trump can issue a pre-emptive pardon of anyone he likes, including himself, whenever he wants. If he’s concerned about doing that while he’s under investigation or still in the Oval Office, he can do it on the last day he is in office. Yeah, Nixon thought he could do stuff like that, too. Turns out, he couldn’t. I agree we’re in uncharted territory, but I don’t believe Trump is beyond the reach of the law nearly so much as he believes he is. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Further, I would hate to see Mueller play a game like that and work contrary to the charter he was given by the US government. YMMV, but it’s a slippery slope to start down that path. The Ring of Power can’t be used for good, and it’s a mistake to try and do so. We need folks like Mueller to be the straightest of straight arrows. These guys are professionals, and woe be it unto the Trumpsters who try and beat them at their own game. I say let them do their jobs and let the chips fall where they may. I don’t view it as a “game.” I view it as someone (Trump) who committed crimes and believes he can game the system to get away with them. Someone who was entrusted at the highest level of office to protect and defend our Constitution, our people and our way of life and who, of all people, should be held to the highest standards of all. He has diminished the office. He has made a mockery of it. He has treated it like scum on his shoe. I hope he dies in prison. I don’t disagree that Mueller should be the straightest of straight arrows and I believe he will be. But I don’t view Mueller prosecuting Trump strategically so Trump can do less damage as a “game.” You think it would be good for the country for Trump to keep on presidentin’ after he pardons himself from impeachment? I don’t. ---
**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 15, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1210 "2017-07-15T20:37:11Z")
A smart prosecuter might hold.off laying some charges so he doesn’t get screwed by double jeopardy and/or waiting for more evidence but you are, rather unsurprisingly, mistaking Mueller’s role. He’s not prosecuting anything. He’s investigating. Hiding findings until they can be more damaging would be quite wrong. ---
**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 15, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1211 "2017-07-15T20:48:10Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > A smart prosecuter might hold.off laying some charges so he doesn’t get screwed by double jeopardy and/or waiting for more evidence but you are, rather unsurprisingly, mistaking Mueller’s role. He’s not prosecuting anything. He’s investigating. Hiding findings until they can be more damaging would be quite wrong. No one is suggesting Mueller hide any findings. As you said, he is not specifically in charge of prosecution. I have made that point myself in other parts of this thread. Congress will be in charge of impeaching, and DAG Rosenstein will be in charge of prosecuting criminal charges if warranted. Your pedantic focus on how I say what I say is curious. You also seem to be laboring under the misguided notion that only lawyers can read or have an opinion on the law. Lastly, I am not a “guy.” ---
**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 15, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1212 "2017-07-15T20:58:36Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > No one is suggesting Mueller hide any findings. As you said, he is not specifically in charge of prosecution. I have made that point myself in other parts of this thread. Congress will be in charge of impeaching, and DAG Rosenstein will be in charge of prosecuting criminal charges if warranted. > > Your pedantic focus on how I say what I say is curious. You also seem to be laboring under the misguided notion that only lawyers can read or have an opinion on the law. > > Lastly, I am not a “guy.” Firstly, “guy” is unisex nowadays. None of the girls blink an eye when I say “see you guys later”. Secondly, you quite clearly and specifically said Mueller should hold some findings until the time is right: > [@](#): > > My hope is that Mueller & Team use only what they have/need to in order to get him impeached – and that they save most of their prosecutions of Trump’s racketeering, money laundering/tax evasion schemes for when he and his corrupt administration are safely out of office. But I’m sure you really meant blah blah something different and anyways blah blah. ---
**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 15, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1213 "2017-07-15T21:00:52Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Secondly, you quite clearly and specifically said Mueller should hold some findings until the time is right. So you missed the, “& Team” part. ---
**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 15, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1214 "2017-07-15T21:05:39Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Yeah, Nixon thought he could do stuff like that, too. Turns out, he couldn’t. I agree we’re in uncharted territory, but I don’t believe Trump is beyond the reach of the law nearly so much as he believes he is. > > I don’t view it as a “game.” I view it as someone (Trump) who committed crimes and believes he can game the system to get away with them. Someone who was entrusted at the highest level of office to protect and defend our Constitution, our people and our way of life and who, of all people, should be held to the highest standards of all. He has diminished the office. He has made a mockery of it. He has treated it like scum on his shoe. I hope he dies in prison. > > I don’t disagree that Mueller should be the straightest of straight arrows and I believe he will be. But I don’t view Mueller prosecuting Trump strategically so Trump can do less damage as a “game.” You think it would be good for the country for Trump to keep on presidentin’ after he pardons himself from impeachment? I don’t. I think what you said you wanted Mueller to do is fairly described as “a game”. YMMV. But I’m confused by your representation of the pardon. What is it about the pardons that you mentioned that can’t be done preemptively? We know that presidents can preemptive pardon other people-- it’s been done recently. We don’t know that presidents can pardon themselves at all, true, but you were predicting he’d do that, too. And finally, a president cannot pardon himself from impeachment. Impeachment is not a criminal undertaking and the constitution gives the sole power for that to The House. And as a final note, impeachment does not remove the president from office. If you want to convict in the Senate, the best way to insure that is to pile on the grounds of impeachment as high as possible. ---
**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 15, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1215 "2017-07-15T21:19:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think what you said you wanted Mueller to do is fairly described as “a game”. YMMV. > > But I’m confused by your representation of the pardon. What is it about the pardons that you mentioned that can’t be done preemptively? We know that presidents can preemptive pardon other people-- it’s been done recently. We don’t know that presidents can pardon themselves at all, true, but you were predicting he’d do that, too. > > And finally, a president cannot pardon himself from impeachment. Impeachment is not a criminal undertaking and the constitution gives the sole power for that to The House. And as a final note, impeachment does not remove the president from office. If you want to convict in the Senate, the best way to insure that is to pile on the grounds of impeachment as high as possible. There are many, many things presidents “cannot” do that Trump does in fact do or attempt to do. What I don’t want is for Trump to somehow sidestep actual punishment for doing them. To be clear, I believe that Trump will attempt almost anything to save his own neck, both tried and untried, legal and illegal. If he thinks things are getting too “hot,” I wouldn’t put it past him to start a war as a deflection tactic or even attempt to flee the United States to a country with no extradition treaty with us. I really wouldn’t. I think he is the most morally destitute, corrupt, ignorant and shallow individual we have ever suffered in the office. He aspires to be Putin. He flaunts his immoral, depraved nature at every turn and only gets away with it because Republicans – bought and paid for by their corporate masters – turn a blind eye to even his most egregious offenses. If that changes, and I hope it will, attempting to pardon himself is maybe the least of what I expect him to attempt. He has seriously considered firing Mueller. He only backed off when Republicans basically informed him there were lines they were not willing to cross. What’s shocking to me is, how few of those lines there are. ---
**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 15, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1216 "2017-07-15T21:25:51Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > There are many, many things presidents “cannot” do that Trump does in fact do or attempt to do. What I don’t want is for Trump to somehow sidestep actual punishment for doing them. > > To be clear, I believe that Trump will attempt almost anything to save his own neck, both tried and untried, legal and illegal. If he thinks things are getting too “hot,” I wouldn’t put it past him to start a war as a deflection tactic or even attempt to flee the United States to a country with no extradition treaty with us. I really wouldn’t. > > I think he is the most morally destitute, corrupt, ignorant and shallow individual we have ever suffered in the office. He aspires to be Putin. He flaunts his immoral, depraved nature at every turn and only gets away with it because Republicans – bought and paid for by their corporate masters – turn a blind eye to even his most egregious offenses. If that changes, and I hope it will, attempting to pardon himself is maybe the least of what I expect him to attempt. > > He has seriously considered firing Mueller. He only backed off when Republicans basically informed him there were lines they were not willing to cross. What’s shocking to me is, how few of those lines there are. OK, I’m going to just “agree to disagree” at this point. I mean, some of that I agree with, some I disagree with, and some of it I honestly don’t understand. But that’s OK. We both want Trump out of office. I’m less concerned with what happens to him afterwards, but that isn’t going to affect the country in the way that getting him out of the Oval Office will. I think it’s going to be a severe, uphill battle getting him out and I don’t want anything to get in the way of that. Maybe you think it will be easier, and so see things differently. And that’s fine. ---
**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 15, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1217 "2017-07-15T21:28:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’m less concerned with what happens to him afterwards, but that isn’t going to affect the country in the way that getting him out of the Oval Office will. No argument at all that getting him out of office as quickly as possible is the number one goal. Handshake on this, for sure. I, too, don’t think it will be easy. The damage he does to our country every single day he remains in office is horrifying and it hurts my heart to see it. So we agree on that, too – nothing should get in the way of it. ---
**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 15, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1218 "2017-07-15T21:28:23Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > So you missed the, “& Team” part. Sooo, the team should hide stuff from Mueller until the time is right? The team should just forget to include things in the final report? The team is going to ignore some juicy leads until later? What can the Team do ethically that Mueller is restricted from doing himself? ---
**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 15, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1219 "2017-07-15T21:39:37Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Sooo, the team should hide stuff from Mueller until the time is right? The team should just forget to include things in the final report? The team is going to ignore some juicy leads until later? What can the Team do ethically that Mueller is restricted from doing himself? You sound confused (unsurprisingly). If you manage to sort out what I meant, I look forward to your undoubtedly devastating rebuttal, as evidenced by all your prior substantive posts on the subject matter under discussion. ---
**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 15, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1220 "2017-07-15T21:46:29Z")
So no answer? You don’t want to spell out how Mueller’s team should hold on to info until Trump is out of office? I’m the only idiot here who doesn’t catch your drift? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1221 "2017-07-15T23:40:18Z")
Don Jr. told Hannity that 'that was everything". Of course, it wasn’t everything, and at the very least, more people were in attendance than he’d admitted to. He’s a very convincing liar. I am convinced he’s lying. ---
**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 15, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/1222 "2017-07-15T23:50:49Z")
Small potatoes. There are meetings I had last week where I probably wouldn’t get all the attendees right if you asked me about them. There are some big things here, potentially. What DTJ told Hannity or didn’t tell Hannity is of little consequence. That was a set-up interview anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=60) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799.md?page=62)