General Discussion

DonViejo

(60,536 posts) Mon Nov 6, 2017, 12:39 PM Nov 2017

Russia Puts the Squeeze on Don Jr. - Josh Marshall

By JOSH MARSHALL Published NOVEMBER 6, 2017 9:50 AM

That notorious Russian lawyer who met with Don Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower in June 2016 is talking again. Natalia Veselnitskaya gave a two and a half hour interview yesterday in Moscow in which she claimed that Don Jr. had told her that key sanctions against Russia might be lifted in what seems to have been a tacit exchange for help in the election. Here’s the key passage from the write-up in Bloomberg News …

Veselnitskaya said she went to the New York meeting to show Trump campaign officials that major Democratic donors had evaded U.S. taxes and to lobby against the so-called Magnitsky law that punishes Russian officials for the murder of a Russian tax accountant who accused the Kremlin of corruption.

“Looking ahead, if we come to power, we can return to this issue and think what to do about it,’’ Trump Jr. said of the 2012 law, she recalled. “I understand our side may have messed up, but it’ll take a long time to get to the bottom of it,” he added, according to her.

Veselnitskaya also said Trump Jr. requested financial documents showing that money that allegedly evaded U.S. taxes had gone to Clinton’s campaign. She didn’t have any and described the 20-minute meeting as a failure.

There are several overlapping points to consider in this account. The first and most important is that we should not take anything Veselnitskaya says at face value. Our best understanding is that she is part of a Russian intelligence influence operation. The point of these efforts is not just to make deals or help friends. It is to get control. That means compromising people. It is hard to see this statement on her part as anything but an implicit threat. If what she is saying is true, Veselnitskaya is describing the clearest example to date of a proposed quid pro quo between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. A plain reading of her claim is that he was suggesting that if they could produce real evidence against Clinton, a future Trump administration could help with sanctions relief.

That is a huge, huge detail – if it’s true.

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/russia-puts-the-squeeze-on-don-jr

7 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Russia Puts the Squeeze on Don Jr. - Josh Marshall (Original Post) DonViejo Nov 2017 OP

It's like somebody you sort of know walks up and punches you in the nose. Girard442 Nov 2017 #1

Quid meet Quo, Quo, Quid. Now that we are all friends . . . grantcart Nov 2017 #2

Good points. But he misses another point: it doesn't have to be true in order for wiggs Nov 2017 #3

I wonder if they will still have security clearances after they both are indicted? red dog 1 Nov 2017 #5

The point is that the Trumps are obvious puppets & compromised now. StrictlyRockers Nov 2017 #4

Trump has always been pro-Putin RandomAccess Nov 2017 #7

K&R...Thanks for posting red dog 1 Nov 2017 #6

Girard442

(6,075 posts)

1. It's like somebody you sort of know walks up and punches you in the nose.

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Mon Nov 6, 2017, 12:46 PM

Nov 2017

You may wonder what their motivation is and what they'll do next, but one thing you know for sure -- your nose has just been punched.

grantcart

(53,061 posts)

2. Quid meet Quo, Quo, Quid. Now that we are all friends . . .

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Mon Nov 6, 2017, 12:48 PM

Nov 2017

wiggs

(7,814 posts)

3. Good points. But he misses another point: it doesn't have to be true in order for

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Mon Nov 6, 2017, 12:54 PM

Nov 2017

the russians to now threaten them with exposure. He took the meeting. So now she can say anything she wants about the meeting. Don Jr and Jared are under her thumb either way.

Why do they still have security clearance? Why isn't every single congressperson standing up and saying this is unacceptable?