Russia Collusion "Fake News" ? Not Any More
President Donald Trump and members of his inner circle on Monday were quick to distance the President from news that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had surrendered to the FBI for charges related to money laundering, among other alleged offenses.
Those efforts to disassociate the President from the first arrests of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe quickly proved futile.
Just minutes after the President sounded off on Twitter to say the Manafort charges had nothing to do with him, and Trump’s former campaign manager defended him on television, court documents from a separate case were unsealed. Those documents revealed that a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser had pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia.
Just before 10:30 a.m. ET, Trump tweeted that the charges against Manafort stem from alleged bad deeds that occurred “years ago” and were therefore not the President’s problem. The indictment against Manafort indicates the alleged misconduct spanned from 2006 to 2017.
Trump then quickly switched the focus back to “crooked Hillary and the Dems,” proclaiming there was no collusion between his campaign and the Russian government to influence the election, issues that have been the focus of special counsel Mueller’s wide-ranging probe.
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was one of the first Trump loyalists to appear on cable news to defend the President.
He was quick to shift blame away from his former boss, claiming during an interview with Fox Business that there is a “problem with the FBI” because the agency didn’t notify the campaign that Manafort was under a FISA warrant “before coming to the Trump campaign.”
He then echoed comments made by sources close to the White House early Monday that Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates — who was also named in the indictment — were “bad guys when they started. They were bad guys when they left. The indictment has nothing to do with any relationship with Russia.”
“Look, if Paul Manafort and Rick Gates are guilty of tax evasion, money laundering, or hiding their accounts in Cyprus, or whatever it is, they should absolutely be held accountable. But they should be held accountable independent of the President, because the President had nothing to do with coordination, collusion or cooperation with Russia, nobody at the campaign did that I’m aware of,” Lewandowski said.
News of the separate case, that the Trump campaign’s foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the federal agents, broke not long after Trump’s initial tweets.
Papadopoul0s admitted earlier this month that he lied to FBI agents in January about his contact with a professor whom he knew had substantial Kremlin connections. According to the court documents , Papadopoulos said he met with the professor just days before joining the Trump campaign.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-allies-brush-manafort-new-case-drops
Article is LOCKED by author/seeder
Who is online
120 visitors
I said on another thread this morning that this could be more important that the Manafort indictment.
That is being manifested already.
The charges against Popadopolous indicate that he communicated with both the Russians and the campaign about stolen emails.
Trump can no longer claim that "Russia" is fake news.
That's just opposition research like what Hillary and the dems did when they paid for the dossier.
If Trump's unpaid worker tried to get dirt on Hillary is illegal then Hillary's dirt digging is as well.
Not so, check the election laws, you can't get anything of value from a foreign advisory, last I checked Russia qualify's so, Hillary used a U.S. based company but, Trumps campaign did not, they used WikiLeaks, which the intelligence agency's have said works for Russia.
They hired a company that went to Russia on behalf of Hillary and the DNC. That's like hiring a hitman. Trump got nothing from wiki. If Trump hired a company to go to wiki it would have been ok?
You do like rewriting history don't you? Now think again, who initially hired the company causing the company to dig up info in the dossier?
Here's a clue: it was NOT a Democrat or a Democratic supporter.
Try again.
The Washington Free Beacon says it hired intelligence firm Fusion GPS during the 2016 Republican presidential primary.
But the conservative news publication denies it had any knowledge or connection to the now-infamous dossier of allegations about President Donald Trump and Russia written by ex-British agent Christopher Steele, who was commissioned by Fusion GPS.
CNN reported in January that senior US intelligence officials briefed then-President Barack Obama and President-elect Trump about the dossier just weeks before Trump's inauguration.
Earlier this week, CNN reported that the law firm that represented Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee hired the firm and entered "into an engagement for research services that began in April 2016 and concluded before the election in early November."
However, Clinton and other high-level Democrats have denied having knowledge of the dossier during the election.
Fusion GPS is an American company who used a former British agent to gather information, no Russian meetings in penthouses like someone else had.
So your posit is that all of the information in the dossier was gathered after April 2016?
What evidence do you have that anyone from Fusion WENT to Russia? In fact, what evidence do you have that any of the substantive information in the dossier was gathered after April 2016?
Oh and BTFW, why does it matter who paid for what if Trump's claim that 'It's all a lie" is true?
Hyperbole much? If you really believe that, do you support prosecuting Paul Singer?
Not for lack of trying.
Why pay for something that you can get for free? Stone, Trump's buddy, had a face to face meeting with Assage.
hat evidence do you have that anyone from Fusion WENT to Russia?
Whether they WENT to Russia is irrelevant. They paid high ranking Russian officials for dirt on Trump.
what evidence do you have that any of the substantive information in the dossier was gathered after April 2016?
Literally every report of the work Richard Steele did.
why does it matter who paid for what if Trump's claim that 'It's all a lie" is true?
Because liberals have spent the last six months claiming Trump colluded with Russia by seeking to obtain information on Clinton from the Russian government.
That's quite possibly the most asinine defense possible. It doesn't matter at all whether Fusion GPS is Russian or American.
You can't absolve yourself of criminal liability by hiring an agent to do something illegal for you. If obtaining information from Russian officials about political opponents is illegal, it doesn't matter if you do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you.
I honestly can't believe anyone is so ignorant as to think you absolve yourself of criminal liability by hiring a company to do an illegal act for you
The DNC and Hillary Clinton.
Here's are the actual facts:
Washington Beacon retained fusion GPS to do research on all the main Republican contenders. The research consisted of finding information that was already in the public domain and had nothing to do with Russia or any field work. The project ended when Trump cinched the nomination.
The Democrats retained Fusion for a new project that involved researching Russia, hiring Richard Steele and preparing the dossier. All of the non-public information gathered in the dossier was obtained by Richard Steele and Fusion GPS while being paid by Hillary and the DNC.
And Steele, Hillary's paid lackey, met with Russians.
Which is illegal? Either both are or neither are.
Why? You just confirmed what I said. The dossier is a paid for by Hillary and the dems problem.
The dossier happened months after the rep cancelled the contract with Fusion. The dossier is all on the dems and Hillary.
Now. If Trump's surrogates seeking Russian dirt on Hillary is illegal is Hillary's surrogates seeking Russian dirt on Trump illegal?
It is relevant when a member makes that claim.
Link?
Yet Fusion's work isn't just what Steel did. Note that there are numbers on the top of each report. The first number published is 080.
Actually, the Clinton info thing wasn't until July so your timeline is WAY off.
Sessions, Flynn, Donny Jr., Manafort, Kushner, Papadopoulos and Carter Page all met with Russians during the campaign. Since you think meeting with Russians is illegal, I presume you support the arrest and prosecution of all of those people. Might as well add Jill Stein...
Oh and BTFW, Steele is a freaking British citizen. Can you please link the UK statute citing that it's illegal for their citizens to meet with Russians?
Just meeting with Russians isn't illegal. Coordinating with them, promising them something like removal of sanctions or a repeal of the Magnistky Act which is what their ask was, in return for illegally obtained dirt on a US candidate or political party in an attempt to subvert a federal election is.
Trump Jr. met with the Russians and discussed "adoptions" which had been on hold ever since the Russians retaliated for the Magnitsky Act, and Flynn met with the Russian ambassador and discussed the removal of sanctions once the pro-Russian administration was inaugurated.
" Officials said this week that the FBI is continuing to examine Flynn’s communications with Kislyak. Several officials emphasized that while sanctions were discussed, they did not see evidence that Flynn had an intent to convey an explicit promise to take action after the inauguration."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/national-security-adviser-flynn-discussed-sanctions-with-russian-ambassador-despite-denials-officials-say/2017/02/09/f85b29d6-ee11-11e6-b4ff-ac2cf509efe5_story.html?utm_term=.2925127726ab
" Veselnitskaya has said she was interested in the Magnitsky Act issue on behalf of a private client."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/newly-disclosed-email-sheds-light-on-trump-jr-meeting-with-russian-lawyer/2017/10/09/2d0fecb0-a9e3-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html?utm_term=.cc25a1c03b35
Steele, meeting with Russians to find out what they were up to is completely different than a campaign official meeting and discussing cooperation, shared interests and mutual back scratching.
And that is all speculation.
How much of Hillary's money did Steele pay for dirt on Trump? What promises did she make to get the dirt? She and Bill got millions from the Russians in speaking fees and "donations" to the foundation they use as their slush fund.
Meeting with Russians isn't illegal. Getting dirt on a political opponent from the Russians isn't either.
Steele's nationality doesn't matter since he was hired by the company Hillary hired.
Collusion isn't illegal unless it involves a crime.
Aren't you jumping the gun a little bit there Galen? I mean, do you already have the noose made up? Why don't we just go on and hang him before the trial and save all that money? Hell, we don't need any evidence. That's for a civilized society. Geezzzzzzz!!!!
I think the significance of what happened with Popadopolous is being missed here. It may be decisivel! It is not about the Trump campaign's missed opportunities to get dirt on Hillary from the Russians, (something the Clinton campaign actually did), It is about the possible cooperation between Popodopolous and the investigation. He was too low level a figure to offer any information even if there was damning information. However there is one possible way, one that would make sense of all the leaks going out to the media on the heels of the election, one that makes sense of the court documents - Popodopolous was wearing a wire!
Yep, Jeffery Toobin said a little while ago that the guilty plea filing contains language that indicates he may have been wearing a wire from July to October.
That is what "proactive assistance" means. It's more than simple testimony
No matter what, they need evidence. At least you would think they would, but railroading is not out of the question with these people. They are pretty determined to convict or at least impeach Trump and I don't think there is anything they wouldn't do to accomplish that goal, personally.
Mueller and Comey are tight. All the people as far as I know on the prosecutor's side are Democrats and Hillary supporters. Mueller was FBI director and so was Comey during the time Manafort was being investigated long before 2016. Why didn't they go after him then when they had control over the IRS, DOJ and all the Intelligence agencies? Wonder when they are going to raid Podesta's home in the middle of the night?
With everyone knowing all the crooked things Hillary and the Democrats did and those of you who want Trump out can accept it or not, but there is actual evidence of the colluding between them and the Russians, not directly, but indirectly and if Trump is kicked out of office by this or convicted of something, this country is going to have hell to deal with after that.
The diehard Trump supporters and the Popular vote mob mentality of the Resistance are going to find out the guy from Lebanon was right when he said this country would be a third world country, because there will be no doubt letting Hillary and the gang get by without even investigating them with so much not only pointing to their corruption but evidence to back it up will change this country forever and not for the better. With open season on Trump and complete amnesty on Hillary I'm afraid it will cause anarchy.
These people have taken just about as much as they are willing to take and it isn't going to take much more to push them over the line.
His emails, and the 'official' replies to them are relevant evidence of intent.
One of the fun facts about today is that Mueller seems to have "sucker punched" Trump.
The news about Manafort was released and then Trump came out and tweeted about how all this was before Manafort was involved with Trump '16, and it had nothing to do with his campaign, "fake news" bla bla bla. Then , once Trump had tweeted word came out of the Popadopolous guilty plea announcement. Suddenly, Trump's "fake news" bleating seemed obsolete. Tee hee.
You should open a twitter account, then you can go back & forth with Trump
Naw, he blocks anyone that doesn't agree with him, or, confronts him with facts.
George Papadopoulos?
WHO the fuck is George Papadopoulos, George was a volunteer advisor unpaid advisor, who six times tried to make a connection between the T-Rump campaign and people with connections to the Russians. All such attempts were rebuffed by the campaign and that is Papadopoulos statement before he was separated from the campaign.
His legal issue is solely laid out as denying that he was doing this to the FBI. that is what he is charged with......
Lying to the FBI.
He in no way connects the T-Rump campaign in any way with the Russians on any level..... In fact the truth of what he says goes straight to the heart of the collusion claims. Here was one guy whose only actions in the campaign was to try and make such a connection and he was rebuffed.....
For some reason he lied to the FBI? Why?
Only he can answer that.......
He's a frigging nobody, so one has to wonder why so many are making so much of a nobody who lied for some other reason than trying to hide anything.....
And that is according to his lawyer who was just on the radio not 20 minutes ago saying such......
His lawyer is asking a similar question.... WHY?
You probably need to read something about this story.
I've been following the story all fucking morning and early afternoon.
From the liberal talking heads who talk like he was the mover and shaker of T-Rumps foreign policy, to those like his attorney who are claiming that he is nothing but a patsy who made a stupid mistake by lying to the FBI.....
He comes across to me like a stupid patsy hanger on that was given a position in the campaign with a glorified title just to make him feel important then moved over to some hidden corner out of the way.....
You hang your hat on him.... if what they are claiming is true then there would be a lot more charges than simple lying to the FBI...... and that is all he's admitting to...
Papadopoulos is a nobody..... if he was more than that, the media would be all over him....
Guess what, they aren't...
NWM, having read the 14 page "Statement of the Offense" don't now that I concur with your assessment. His lying speaks directly to timeline, contact, and campaign officials. Whether or not he purposely lied to hid anything isn't evident yet (imo). Until the email recipients and the contents are disclosed, we've speculation.
Curious how months between arrest and pleading has lagged...part of broader strategy?
To use your venacular, Hilldabeast should have done so. Never mistake my wanting to get to the truth somehow doesn't extend to the last admin.
The uninformed may be helpless before the facts.
Regarding the frog...wing placement is critical
E.A LOL Yes like the Bubble Bee it also should not have a Pilots License :-)
and lets not forget those " Flying Pigs "
Their heads are exploding...Mueller accomplished in less than a year what the Right couldn't get in 8, an actual conviction and two indictments.
Remember when it was Hillary on the hot seat and they were all screaming that "If You're being investigated by the FBI, you're guilty...Lock her up!"? Now of course it's a "witch hunt" nevermind all that shit we spewed "If it walks like a duck...." LOL and they couldn't, and still won't be able to lock her up..
All this squirming and posturing! It's funny as hell to watch.
Lynne, I agree with your assessment 100%. All anyone has is speculation at this point. Experience tells me that the indictment is specifically vague. could be many reasons for that. amongst which is they are withholding material specifics cause they do not want to reveal what they do or don't know. Which is probably what is going on given they have a Statute of Limitations issue.
Their investigation isn't complete by a long shot so you can consider two things, he is pleading guilty to forestall any further investigation from his angle, OR, the charges are a result of his refusing to cooperate any further than he lied. (falling on his sword)
Too early to tell. since he has pled guilty he should be sentenced rather quickly, how quickly will be an indication of the reason for the charging at this time....
they are really after Manafort, we don't know how Popadopolis plays into this yet, but there is a connection somewhere.
Until then all we have is speculation.
And of course one side is looking at this as a linch pin that will bring the whole sordid affair crashing down and the other side is looking at this as an unrelated nuisance charge.
I take it somewhere in the middle.
Popadopolis is small fry the real question is can they connect him to actual Russian government officials, and I haven't seen anything that comes close to that yet. So far all they have admitted to is talks with intermediaries which properly the higher ups in the campaign would blow off....
Time will have to tell, but rest assured the media is going to spin anything they get their hands on.....
I don't sweets, I know better.
I'll tell ya what, which ever ones get awarded a necktie party, Your invited to the platform to pull the lever with me....
If there is one thing that is honest to god truth, we need to discover all the extent of corruption and dispose of the whole lot of them no matter which side they played the game from.
Absolutely. There's enough corruption to keep a special prosecutor in a job for two lifetimes!
It's pretty obvious from the emails, that were released and published by Post months ago, that he was a low level staffer trying to make a name for himself.
One of the email was forwarded to Manafort, I think, and he basically said its not worth having senior staff respond to this guy.
The best case for the anti-Trump conspiracy is that some senior staffer told him to lie to investigators after he was arrested or something. He's not going to provide any evidence of "collusion," but possibly may testify in support of an obstruction charge against someone else. Although an "obstruction" charge when there is no underlying crime is pretty silly.
Yea NWM, you need to read some from Vox. They explain it to you so you'll understand it. LOL
You know NWM, who was the FBI Director all those years Manafort was suppose to be doing his dirty deeds? Mueller, right? What was he doing back then until Comey came in to take his place, which leads me to my next question. What was Comey doing when Obama, oh by the way what was he doing? Oh that's right, Obama and Hillary were giving uranium to Russia. What did the United States get for doing that? Why would we do something stupid like that? Oh, that's right we didn't get anything, but Bill and Hillary sure did, didn't they?
These charges today don't have a thing to do with the Trump campaign colluding with anyone. I have to say the Left Wing news sources are spinning this as much or more than any time I seen them spin their lies, thought. Hey what was the DOJ doing during Obama's two terms about Manafort or the IRS for that matter. All this stuff happened before Trump even decided to run for President and Papaolous isn't a problem either. They've already cleared it, that his situation doesn't involve Trump or his campaign either. This is surreal!!!
These charges today don't have a thing to do with the Trump campaign colluding with anyone
Can't wait for the other shoe to drop..
You speak the truth Brother, but like Lynne said and I agree with, we will have to wait it out and see where it goes.....
Hey CM long time no see! Welcome back!
And yeah, that other shoe is going to be a doozy I expect....
So were Trump's children and Sessions. Being unpaid seemed to get them some pretty cushy jobs. In the case of Sessions, his dream job.
Gee, you know this HOW? The prior leaks of his emails, published by the media, were heavily edited. It's well accepted that Manafort facilitated those leaks and had a vested interest in how they were edited. The FBI now has the ENTIRE content of those email chains, as proven by the court documents connected to the plea. The actual 'official' replies to George's Russian inquires, as documented in the court documents, refute that all of his attempts were 'rebuffed'.
Yet before the news of his plea, Trump was tweeting away and afterward, NADA. The mouth that spews STFU awfully quick because a 'frigging nobody' is now a ''proactive cooperator'?
"In March 21, 2016 Trump revealed the list of five advisers -- Keith Kellogg, Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, Walid Phares and Joseph Schmitz -- in a meeting with editors and reporters at the Washington Post .
In that meeting, Trump called Papadopoulos an "excellent guy."
So apparently Trump was very familiar with him as he was selected as 1 of 5 campaign advisers.
I thought this was an interesting courtroom illustration. They look like they’re wearing invisible handcuffs.
Glad to see you think Hillary Clinton colluded with Russia. Or do your standards only apply to junior campaign staffers?
Lying to investigators is what got Martha Stewart into jail over her insider trading scandal. And, here we see another person taken down by doing the same thing, but Comey made the case that Hillary should face the same charges at least when he "cleared" her of any wrongdoing over her emails and server. Before Congress and with the release of the report over the investigation, he admitted that she lied to investigators multiple times during her interview.
Care to show that? Comey said "We have no basis to believe Hillary Clinton lied in her interviews" That comes from Politifact and referencing heavily on Fox News for the confirmation.
She got a Pants on Fire for saying Comey said she was truthful in her public statements and her statements to the investigators.
Hillary lied to the public. In her FBI interview, she just said "I don't remember" over and over again.
Ya know, if Hillary was the POTUS, that would bother me, but....She isn't, so who cares? Not me. Trump lies every day, his press sec. told 18 lies just TODAY.. THAT worries me.
Link or it didn't happen. Get set.......GO
So if it's on 17 you are ok with it? LMAO!!!
When are you going to get it? This isn't about Hillary any more or, Obama, Obama isn't president and, Hillary is out selling her book, this is about Trump, your hero.
You are just looking for demons that don't exist in the Democratic Party, they are clowns in the Republican Party.
How is it about Hillary? She didn't collude with Russia to get Trump elected.
Problem?
Yes, obviously you didn't read my request.
I asked Tom where "Comey admitted that Hillary lied in the interviews"
So far you give everything but what I asked for.
You know this HOW?
Actually, she didn't lie to the FBI... a lifelong republican said so.. Why are you on and on about someone that isn't even a government employee anymore?
How do you know this? Much of the dossier has been verified, so it's not a "ruse". And how exactly does someone "collude" to lose an election? It's been obvious from the start that Russia was backing Trump. All these attempts at a smoke screen based on the funding of the Steele document are just that, and attempt to obfuscate and hide the fact that much has been verified and it uncovered facts. And besides, it was a Republican group who initiated the investigation and opposition research that became the Steele document.
Uh-oh.
Comment removed for violation of the CoC. [ph]
So since you cannot refute his information and data, you are going to attack him personally?
Deleted; CoC Violation (A.M.)
I am just trying to figure out why you would want to take his approval ratings because he posted approval ratings you don't agree with... Just saying.
I don't disagree at all. They are what they are........and a lot of people don't give a shit what a controlled "audience" thinks. Please remember the polls last November..............
The polls last November reflected the popular vote, which Hillary won and that's what the polls showed. Polls do NOT reflect the electorate. I am a little shocked you didn't know that.
The polls had Hillary up by 2%, at the end, which is exactly what she won the popular vote by. The polls were bang on.
So now Hillary won the popular vote?
Hilarious.
These are the same people who argue that trump lost the popular vote by 10 million.
That kind of question would lead to a direct attack to a member or the community and is prohibited by the CoC.
The only people still defending trump are the retards that go to brietfart, infowhores and faux noise. Comment removed for skirting the CoC [ph]
So you don't like your fellow Americans who put a duly elected President in office because your "dreams" are shattered. Relax. It isn't going to be as rough as you think it is.
By the way, did any of you anti-Trumpers notice the consumers spending index raised by 1%, the highest in eight years, today? Of course you did.Just can't admit that it is all falling into place.........sad bunch and so sorry. As an old friend of mine used to post at NV, "Have a great day and if you are a lefty liberal, try not to be so miserable". Seems quite a few here could use that as a good morning call since last November.
Alex Jones promoted a story that said the Clinton's were running a child sex ring, out of the basement of a pizza parlor, in downtown Manhattan, that had no basement...and the right wing faithful BOUGHT it. These are the same people that put the, "duly elected president" in office. If that comforts you....there is something wrong...
You have to remember, even Trump said his supporters were stupid.
As a former combat Marine, I love my fellow American's, and I fought for all of them. That doesn't man I think they are all smart.
Thanks for your service and there is a fine line between your definition of smart and mine..........no......prolly not so fine. Yours have to be smart to YOUR liking. Mine have to be smart..........period and choose their own path.....no matter what others think. You see, the mantra has always seemed to be "brilliant minds think alike". Guess what. Brilliant minds don't think alike. They gather info, analyze, think it through critically, and then form an opinion........with or without "the crowd". I have to ask like I have for the last 5-6 months, what has Mr. Trump done that makes your life worse? That of your neighbors? That of your family? That as the nation as a whole?
I'll wait........................and more than likely wait, and wait, and wait for a convincing, REAL answer.
Mean... Sorry.
Trump tweeted that the charges against Manafort stem from alleged bad deeds that occurred “years ago".
That means Trump hired Manafort because of his past achievements, or in spite of them, which makes him either complicit, or off-the-chain stupid.
Trump said he uses, "extreme vetting" when hiring people. This is proof...
Yep and if this is trump's "Best of the Best" that we were promised, I think we're in trouble.
Well, Manafort is a Russian agent, he had to be pretty good to get that close to the Oval Office.
Wait... So.... Manafort did all this bad stuff, "before", trump hired him....and trump vets everyone completely... So trump hired him....why? I'm sorry....but that makes no sense at all.
Waiting for more indictments to come..
Gonna be along wait. Yesterday is about as good as it is going to get for the Democrats.
And they appear they have given up trying to win elections, which is good for Trump.
Lol. There you go again. You are probably one of the last people on earth who anyone would believe to be in the know on anything regarding the Mueller investigation.
Condescending personal insult....reported.
This site is starting to remind me of NV
I already stocked up on popcorn.
"Trump then quickly switched the focus back to 'crooked Hillary and the Dems,' proclaiming there was no collusion between his campaign and the Russian government to influence the election."
"I asked if they had an existing communications channel at his embassy we could use where they would be comfortable transmitting the information they wanted to relay to General [Michael] Flynn [Trump’s national security adviser]. The Ambassador said that would not be possible and so we all agreed that we would receive this information after the Inauguration." - Kushner
Yep. Nothin' to see here.
Collusion in itself is not illegal, and no one explained how it, if it had occurred, might have affected the election.
If the Left Wingers don't put a stop to all this, they will end up with President Pence...which might be good thing.
Collusion: secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially in order to cheat or deceive others
Conspiracy is indeed a crime.
Collusion in itself is not illegal, and no one explained how it, if it had occurred, might have affected the election.
Not in and of itself it's not … but collusion for the purpose of conspiring/planning and/or committing a crime … is illegal.
But, if Donald Trump Jr. sought “dirt” on Hillary Clinton from the Russians, he might be charged with conspiring to violate the election laws of the United States, which prohibit foreign nationals from contributing any “thing of value” to an electoral campaign.
The opposition dirt is at least plausibly a thing of value. And to the extent that the Trump campaign aided, abetted or advised the Russians (or any other hackers) about what would be most useful to steal from the Democrats or how best to enhance the impact of their release, they may well have violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
If the Left Wingers don't put a stop to all this, they will end up with President Pence
If he is not indicted and charged with a crime.
Its Halloween..and it definitely feels like a Full Moon, eh?