Collusion Not Crime: Conspire to Collude; Coordinate to Collude; Attempt to Collude

Conway says Mueller Collusion Probe is Phony Baloney

(Story link is here)

Many still hope that the “smoking gun on Trump-Russian 2016 collusion” hangs on the revelations that Trump's team (via Don Jr., Kushner, and Manafort) meeting in June 2016 with Russians at Trump Tower was about their willingness to receive dirt from the Russians on Hillary Clinton. 

Even Trump Jr. famously said in the email setting up the meeting: “I love it. If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer.”

British publicist Rob Goldstone, who set the meeting up, testified to Mueller that Trump's son-in-law (Jared Kushner) appeared “agitated and infuriated” when the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who was heading up the Russian side of the meeting instead rambled about Russian adoption policy and sanctions and not anything about “dirt” connected to Clinton. Kushner even asked her to “focus a bit more and to start over.”

Goldstone himself thought he was bringing a “smoking gun” to the Trump team, although he believed the meeting was a “bad idea.”

Key Point: There is no federal statute against “collusion as a crime, or even “an attempt at collusion, or “a desire to collude.” But, they left empty-handed and most-assuredly disappointed. But, the real definition within the word “collusion” is also construed to be: Secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially in order to cheat, or deceive others.

Okay, My Analogy: Collusion may not be a punishable crime or attempting or wanting to collude, either.

But, suppose they had broken into house to steal jewelry and expensive china, but saw it was already gone and then when taken into police custody pleaded no crime was committed – “we didn’t steal or take anything.” But, what about breaking and entering (B&E that is crime for sure or attempted robbery is a crime). 

Same can be said about collusion in my view. Had they gotten “dirt” on Hillary Clinton from the Russians, isn’t that the same thing coordinating with a foreign government to disrupt or influence our election: the process and outcome that certainly is a federal crime.

Trump's allies on Capitol Hill can point to testimony from multiple attendees, including Kushner and Goldstone, that people walked out of the meeting feeling like it was a waste of everyone's time. Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin said the Russian lawyer leading the meeting, Natalia Veselnitskaya, was “disappointed and embarrassed” and felt like her efforts fell flat.

Indeed, it appears that her pitch about Russian adoptions and overturning sanctions went nowhere because Trump's family members and campaign staff were expecting something much more actionable about Clinton.

The House Intelligence Committee's Republican report, which said it found no evidence of collusion, said the Trump Tower meeting was an “ill-advised” endeavor, but it didn't amount to more than bad judgment; call it my B&E analogy and house theft, right?

My 2 Cents: Okay, even if there was no “illegal” corrupt exchange at the meeting, the key players involved would not likely willingly reveal that to congressional investigators; if they had gotten dirt would they have told anyone – even Daddy Trump? LOL LOL LOL

Who does not believe that Trump Sr. did not know?

Oh yeah, right the Trump loyalists trust him no matter what, um?

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