It was always about Russia and money

It was always about Russia and money

On the evening of Thursday 17 January, BuzzFeed News dropped the following bombshell: “President Trump Directed His Attorney To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project”.  The story, assuming the reporting by Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier is corroborated by others and turns out to be true, explains the details of the Trump-Russia connection during his campaign and presidency, and why the acts that flow from that connection are serious crimes.  The following is a lightly edited and glossed discussion of the importance of this story, taken straight from Lawfare.

This story is a big deal because of what it says about the president’s conduct in office. It’s a big deal because of what it says about the reality of Trump’s relationship with Russia during his campaign. And it’s a big deal because the story appears to be based on a serious law enforcement leak.

The stench of corruption

 

Michael Cohen’s plea deal and subsequent filings have filled in many of the gaps in the previously reported timeline of Trump-Russia connections in the 18 months prior to Trump being elected.  With the help of the Washington Post’s latest reporting and timeline (which I’ve borrowed for this post) and the older timelines I previously compiled, here is a condensed chronology of the Trump-Russia connections actually during the election campaign that we can be reasonably sure about now, and some of their implications (in red).