Special Counsel Robert Mueller for the first time directly connected the Trump campaign to Russian intelligence in a new court filing.
Reuters reported, “The connection between Gates and the former intelligence officer, identified only as “Person A” in the records filed late on Tuesday, is significant because criminal charges against Gates and Manafort relate only to their lobbying work for Ukraine prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election and do not delve into their activities during the campaign.”
“Person A” is Konstantin Kilimnik, and it matters that he was in communication with Rick Gates because Gates never left the Trump campaign. Gates was a part of the team through the transition, which means that Russian intelligence was inside the Trump campaign and the presidential transition. It would be a stretch to say that this proves collusion between Trump and the Russians, but it does demonstrate that there was a Putin presence in the campaign of the Republican nominee for president in 2016.
Proof of the Russian presence is vital because it goes to the heart of why Trump was looking to fire James Comey and end the FBI investigation into the relationship between Russia and the Trump campaign. Collusion is not a crime. Coordinating with a foreign government to win an election is a crime.
Mueller is systematically proving that there was a relationship between the Trump campaign and Russia. The byproducts of that relationship are where the crimes were committed. Robert Mueller is examining campaign crimes, cyber crimes, financial crimes, and presidential crimes. The foundation for all of this is the Trump/Russia relationship.
Robert Mueller’s team took a big step forward in proving the relationship, and in the partnership between Trump and Russia are the seeds of presidential destruction.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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