It's important to keep in mind when the research began, it was being done to potentially benefit a republican in that party's primaries.

Trump also says the DNC invested in it later, to prepare an excuse for losing. No one thought, in the summer of 2016, that Ms. Clinton might -- or even could -- lose to Trump.

Recommended.

Representing a foreign nation with hostile intentions.

Manchin on Tapper said it was the equivalent because Steele is not American...

the Clinton campaign and DNC were paying a well-known, major, reputable law firm already in the employ of major Democrats and Democratic organizations for services which included opposition research.

There is NO collusion here.

The difference is crystal clear.

... almost certainly promises to lift sanctions in exchange for Russian web brigades hacking and interfering with the election.

There may have been blackmail around sexual activities and massive debts. Possibly some erasing of debts and/or gifts of Rossneft stock to sweeten the deal. Carter Page brokered the Rossneft deal, it seems.

Mitch McCONnell surely knew and was coordinating when he said "No judicial confirmations because this is the last year of Obama's Presidency", an unprecedented tactic. And when he blocked informing state electoral boards about the hacking.

By comparison all the Democrats did was a simple standard ordinary one-way receipt of information from a British investigator.

No deals about governing policy (sanctions).
No deals about debts or stock.
No blackmailed deals.
No coordination with sanctioned unfriendly powers.
No information (analytics) sent overseas to unfriendly powers.
No top secret information obtained by hacking (Wikileaks).
No meetings with known Russian operatives (Don Jr).
No high level meetings between retired generals (Flynn), Putin, and third party leaders (Jill Stein).

Opposition research by a private investigator hired by your firm, campaign or company is perfectly legal. That PI can ask questions, follow (in a discrete manner, no stalking), look at public records, and gather information which is willingly given by witnesses.

Illegally obtaining emails is a crime, and receiving them is the same as receiving stolen property.

That's the fucking difference.

were unable to answer that question as clearly as you did. Alex Witt asked two people, what was the difference between the Trump campaign doing opposition research in the meeting with Russians last summer and Hillary's campaign paying for the Steele dossier. The answers she got were totally unsatisfactory. Maybe they weren't expecting the question.