Russian Around the Block
Russian Contacts Trump 2016 & Russia
This may appear to come out of the blue, but I am currently reading Adam Schiff’s new book, ‘Midnight in Washington.” It brought to mind the contention that Mueller found no collusion and therefore there WAS no collusion with the Russians during the 2016 Campaign for President. Here are the reasons the FBI saw fit to begin their investigation into contacts between the Trump Campaign 2016 and Russia. And NOT as a result of the Steele “Dossier” that the Republicans initiated to gather dirt on Trump, abandoned when he won the primary.
Not just one (1) or a few Trump 2016 campaign officials & advisers but seventeen (17) who made a total of one hundred (100) contacts with Russians during the campaign. Here is the short list:
1) Michael Cohen – Trump Tower Moscow, etc. 2) George Popadopoulos – Had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, or so he claimed prompting the FBI’s investigation 3) Donald Jr. to remark; “If it’s what you say, I love it!” 4) Paul Manfort -who had extensive contacts with Ukraine in supporting Kiliminick the Russian puppet Russia installed until he was deposed in a fair election putting Zelinkski in power with 70% of the vote. 5) Jeff Sessions, 6) Jared Kushner -met with the Russian attorney in Trump Tower, 7) Roger Stone – sentenced to 30 months in prison for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing justice in the Russian investigation, cooperating with Julian Assange to distribute the emails stolen from the DNC by Russia, 8) Carter Page, 9)Rick Gates -Manafort’s right hand man, 10) J.D. Gordon who met with double agent Maria Butina. 11) Eric Prince (Betsy DeVoss’s brother who met with a Russian agent in the Seychelles to establish a “back channel” between Trump and Russia, and last but certainly not least 12) Michael Flynn who discussed removing sanctions once Trump was in power, who broke bread with Putin himself. The dirty dozen.
Stone, Manafort, Flynn all pardoned and released from custody by Trump on his way out of office.
With campaign officials sharing sensitive information (polling data) with Russian agents by Manafort and numerous other contacts, the FBI would have been highly negligent had they NOT opened an investigation.