It was Collusion, and Much More…

It was Collusion, and Much More…

The NY Times is doing its part to expose the whitewash side of the Trump Russian conspiracy investigation. Today brought another salvo pro-Trump and its somewhat disorienting analysis and conclusion that there was collusion, but that Russia Colluded—by themselves.

The OP-ED by a former CIA and government operative  Daniel Hoffman ( July 28, 2017) offers some insights into the long established methods the Soviet Union and Now Russia have used to destabilize political systems of their enemies.  The article asserts in conclusion that the Russian effort centered on the Trump Jr meeting and was meant to create a discoverable and transparent link to nothing more.  The meeting itself would upset the US electoral system in some way. Trump did not need to collude, the Russians did it all.

It Takes Two to Collude...Dude

With due regard to Mr. Hoffman’s considerable experience and accurate insights into the aggressive nature of the Russian cyber war effort, the logic of the Op-ED falls in on itself.   The Trump meeting was easily discovered but it was not uncovered until long after the impact of the meddling affected the election results. The logic fails because the Trump Jr meeting was kept secret; it was not an agenda item on Hillary’s closing weeks. The closing weeks were about the email scandal, the FBI Director, and focused messaging in key congressional districts.   The cooperation did not require active interplay, but it did require an understanding that the gift was welcomed  and it was not free.

 Impact on the Election

The Russian interference led to something, it impacted the election in favor of Trump. The email scandal- a thing that truly led from nothing to nothing- was amplified by the surrounding noise of negative disclosures from the cyber warfare. The Russian influence in the election was the fake news, the pointed messaging, the possibly substantial amounts of money spent on technical cyber-attacks, and very likely a stream of spending inside of the US.

Truth Will Out

The goal is truth and this will no doubt burn the stack of lies that Trump has built both in the election and in the current pretense at governing. Truth may indeed support that Trump campaign officials were simply useful idiots in the hands of Russian strategists. Truth may expose the levels of cooperation suggested by the evidence already on the record that targeted Ukraine, Crimea, NATO, and the Obama sanctions as the price of Russian support for Trump.  If so, the record to date demonstrates the irrational stretches this administration has reached to support Russian military and political aggression in Syria, Ukraine, NATO, and on the burning issue of sanctions.