There was Trump-Russia collusion — and Trump pardoned the colluder | The Hill
Category: News & Politics
Via: jbb • 2 years ago • 30 commentsBy: Marik von Rennenkampff, Opinion Contributor (The Hill)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
by Marik von Rennenkampff, Opinion Contributor
It's official: The Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
In an explosive development, the Biden administration confirmed that a Russian government agent with close connections to Donald Trump's top 2016 campaign official "provided the Russian Intelligence Services with sensitive information on polling and [Trump] campaign strategy."
This revelation demolishes, once and for all, Trump's ceaseless claims that he was the victim of the "greatest witch hunt in the history of our country." (Recall that a Trump appointee directed Robert Mueller to investigate "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.")
But just how valuable was the polling and campaign strategy data that Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman, gave to a Russian agent?
According to Brad Parscale, Trump's election data guru, the information that Manafort handed directly to Russian intelligence was of critical importance, determining "98 percent" of the campaign's resource allocations (such as spending on TV, radio and social media ads, rallies, field operations, and so on).
Indeed, the data was so important that Parscale kept a visualization of the information on his iPad at all times, allowing him to tell then-candidate Trump where to conduct his next rally at a moment's notice.
According to the then-Republican-led Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the ultrasensitive campaign information that Manafort passed to a Russian spy "identified voter bases in blue-collar, democratic-leaning states which Trump could swing," including in "Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota."
Moreover, the Russian intelligence officer who received the information "was capable of comprehending the complex polling data."
That leaves a lot of unanswered questions as to what Russia's spies did with the information.
Perhaps worse, Trump ultimately pardoned Manafort. Trump's potential political rivals would be wise to remember that he handed the ultimate political favor to the man who colluded with Russia amid Moscow's campaign to undermine American democracy.
But Manafort's malfeasance fits a broader pattern.
As former Trump adviser Steve Bannon — indicted on fraud charges — aptly noted, top Trump officials engaged in a "treasonous" meeting with a former Russian counterintelligence officer and a woman with "extensive and concerning" links to Russian intelligence services.
At the same time, the then-GOP-led Senate committee made clear that Trump knew of and discussed the release of tens of thousands of Russian-hacked documents and emails pilfered from the Democratic National Committee.
Indeed, Trump may have instructed a close confidant, Roger Stone, to orchestrate the leak of Russian-stolen documents as a political distraction at a make-or-break moment during the 2016 campaign.
But it gets worse. According to former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, in surreptitious conversations with a top Russian official, Trump's soon-to-be national security adviser Michael Flynn was "neutering" American sanctions designed to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 election on Trump's behalf.
At the time, Flynn's previous links to Russia made him the target of a counterintelligence probe, thoroughly justifying the FBI's investigation into his collusive calls with a senior Russian government official.
Perhaps worst of all, Trump's political allies released sensitive document after sensitive document in a desperate — and ill-fated — bid to score cheap political points for their boss.
Among other damaging revelations, these selective, politically driven leaks of once highly classified information gave America's adversaries an intimate look into how America's secretive spy catchers conduct their work. The long-term damage to national security and to America's counterintelligence efforts will be debated for years to come.
Ultimately, it took five years to finally learn that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
While the Republicans and conservative media outlets that peddled falsehood after falsehood are dealt a decisive blow, one must wonder what other revelations will come to light in the months and years to come.
Marik von Rennenkampff served as an analyst with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation as well as an Obama administration appointee at the U.S. Department of Defense. Follow him on Twitter @MvonRen.
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Yes Virginia, Trump did collude with Russia...
Nothing that Russia did or did not do interfered in the election....HRC stunk as a candidate. She was unlikeable.
Real election interference is what's happening to Trump right now being committed by the Biden administration, FBI, and DOJ.
So now you are trying to take an opinion piece from 2 years ago and pass it off as fact? Can you say DISINFORMATION?
[Deleted]
Manafort was charged and convicted of tax crimes. He did nothing illegal with regards to Russia, which is why Mueller didn't charge him with anything involving collusion and why he wasn't pardoned for anyhing involving collusion.
[Deleted]
From Case 1:17-cr-00201-ABJ Document 509 Filed 02/13/19, AMY BERMAN JACKSON, United States District Judge:
OSC [Office of the Special Counsel] has established by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant [Manafort] intentionally made multiple false statements to the FBI, the OSC, and the grand jury concerning matters that were material to the investigation: his interactions and communications with Kilimnik [The Mueller Report concluded Kilimnik was connected to Russian intelligence agencies, while the August 2020 final report on 2016 election interference from the Senate Intelligence Committee characterized him as a "Russian intelligence officer"].
Roger Stone - convicted of obstructing a congressional investigation into Russian interference
Michael Flynn - pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with then Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak
Rick Gates - described the sharing of confidential polling data by Paul Manafort, his onetime mentor and a Trump campaign chairman, with a business associate the U.S. says has ties to Russian intelligence
George Papadopoulos -repeatedly lied about his contacts with Russian agents. He pleaded guilty to lying to investigators
There are more, but they are minor figures. The reason Mueller was upset with Barr's whitewash of his report is because it made it look like there was no collusion, where it's very likely that there was. It's just that everyone involved lied, were convicted of a variety of crimes and were pardoned by Trump.
Nothing you wrote disputes what I wrote. Manafort was not indicted for making false statements to the FBI. He was not indicted for any dealings with Kliminink.
Including Flynn shows how desperate you are. Flynn was indicted for lying about a conversation he had AFTER the election, with the Russian Ambassador about an upcoming UN vote about Israel. It's such a desperate ploy to include this as evidence of "collusion".
e scribed the sharing of confidential polling data by Paul Manafort, his onetime mentor and a Trump campaign chairman, with a business associate the U.S. says has ties to Russian intelligence
His indictment had nothing to do with this.
orge Papadopoulos -repeatedly lied about his contacts with Russian agents.
Lol. He was convicted because he got the timing of a conversation with a Professor, not the substance.
Again, not a single American was even so much as charged with colluding or conspiring with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. Not one.
Speaking of collusion, was there any of that when Trump said, "I saved bin Sulman's ass." ? ? Is it possible that we had a president that aided in the cover-up of a murder?
Also wonder if there was any collusion when Flynn and Jill Stein attended a state dinner in The Kremlin and were seated at a table with Putin. Nah. Just coincidence, right?
Maria Butina. Ah, another of those damn coincidences. Hell, there's dozens of more occasions with Russians and the Trumps.
Yep, there were over one hundred documented meetings between Trump and Co with known agents of Russian State Intelligence Services (spies) in the lead-up to the 2016 US elections.
No matter how many times you make this claim, it's still false. Not even Mueller found this as true.
I don't either. It's part of the large pile of fabricated "facts" they love to continually run with.
If Trump colluded with anyone, it was Ukraine.
Ukraine really was working both sides during the 2016 election.
True. Manafort was doing business with, taking money and colluding with Ukrainian government people and individuals in the private sector. However, since the election of Zelenski and the outbreak of war all-------------everyone of those Manafort contacts fled to Russia. These people were always working for Putin. And it is with them and their Russian connections where the corruption in Ukraine was originated.
Nerm knows that but finds it inconvenient.
So, a patriotic Ukrainian was paying Hunter Biden? But, hey, that was a good honest business arrangement; no collusion there.
During the six months before the invasion, Biden repeatedly promised Putin that the United States would not fight Russia. Biden has kept that promise. With friends like Biden, Zelenski doesn't need enemies.
If your interpretation of 'patriotic Ukranians' are those working for, doing the bidding of and shoveling corruption money back to Putin then I guess you would be correct.
Nice to know where your stripes lie.
No, patriotic Ukrainians are doing the bidding of Europe and shoveling corruption money back to US politicians. Didn't you get the cold war memo?
The 1960s called and wants its decade back. Biden gave us back the cold war. Biden has revived and revised the civil rights movement. Biden has even set a goal to land men on the moon before the decade is out. Biden is giving us the 1960s version of Make America Great Again. Never has so many dollars been spent to repeat so much history.
False. Defnding democracy in Ukraine is pennies on the dollar compared to the tax restructuring of 2017 and the unaccountable hundreds of millions of dollars for border security from 2017-2021. Those funds must be audited. How many Trumpian grifters got taxpayer dollars and those dollars now reside in real estate or offshore?
Cold war memo? You obviously know nothing of the 'cold war' and damn sure haven't a clue as to the theme of Eisenhower's farewell address. Bore me no more. [deleted]