Choices: Poor, Nasty, or Ugly Ones: "To Collude or Not Collude" That is the Question

Choices: Damn those choices 

(What do you think Rudy)

WASHINGTON (The AP via MSN) — Trump has denied (again) that there was any “collusion” between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. He declared that “collusion is not a crime anyway.” Case closed? Not exactly.

Trump and his lawyers are right that the term “collusion” (as most of us know already) is not a precise crime in the criminal code. But that doesn't change the potential legal fallout stemming from the Russia investigation, which could touch on laws against computer hacking, election fraud and conspiracy against the United States. 

Collusion is simply a buzz term easier to say in one sentence rather than a string a laws and legal terms that would put listener to sleep or cause them to change channels – so “collusion” fits nicely in our jargon to say what we're really talking about and that which is on-going and looked at by the Mueller team and others from their legal view.

Background:

TRUMP via Twitter (as usual today – July 31, 2018): “Collusion is not a crime, but that doesn't matter because there was No Collusion (except by Crooked Hillary and the Democrats)!”

(I note: He just can’t stop blaming Clinton for his win).

GIULIANI on FOX Sunday: “I have been sitting here looking in the Federal code trying to find collusion as a crime... Collusion is not a crime.”

THE FACTS: It is correct to say that collusion per se isn't a precise legal term.

(Note: BTW election “meddling” isn't a crime, either).

The U.S. code mostly uses the term “collusion” in antitrust laws to address crimes like price fixing.

But there are plenty of specific laws on the books that could apply if Trump's presidential campaign is found to have collaborated with Moscow, including: “…conspiracy to defraud the United States. There are also laws against election fraud, computer hacking, wire fraud and falsifying records,” if any of those will in fact apply and stick.

My 2 cents:  “Collusion” with the Russians or anyone else in any way is not be a prosecutable crime as we all know, but: “… conspiracy to defraud the United States by cooperating, coordinating, and collaborating with them to by tampering, hampering, interfering, trying and actually influencing our election system to undermine our democratic process is a very serious crime.”

Rudy Gee Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer who replaced Michael Cohen seems to have implied this past weekend all over TV:

“That even if the President colluded in the election with the Russians that is not a crime.”

A sorry conclusion on his part and weak smoke screen deflection to lessen the impact of the expected overall Mueller hammer that is forthcoming.

Finally for Mr. Trump or anyone else of the same ilk with that same attitude which seems to be: “Collusion is not a crime, so what if we did.” 

Oops Mr. Trump but guess what: Although collusion is not a crime, ponder this:  

You won’t be charged with a “non-crime crime (collusion)” … but the hammer is coming nevertheless on these serious crimes as mentioned above that will nail you, i.e., “… conspiracy to defraud the United States by cooperating, coordinating, and collaborating with Russia by tampering, hampering, interfering, trying  and actually influencing our election system to undermine our democratic process…”

Done for today and as always thanks for stopping by.