NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Jul 11, 2017 - 06:03pm PT
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Lots of funny stuff here, and I fear cluttering the jokes with something serious. I didn't want to put this in the National Policy Issues thread with potential derailment of Trump bashing and defending. So here goes:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/from-russia-with-love/533235/
This is pretty damning stuff- not just the press reactions but read through the actual email trail. This is what Trump Jr himself released, so the contents should not be subject to repudiation. There is no mistaking the intent and direct conspiracy with parties identified as top level Russian government in the email trail. How could Trump, as candidate for President, not know of a meeting that included his namesake son, his heir-to-throne son-in-law, and his campaign manager? No point in excluding Trump himself from knowledge because not all 3 of those would fall on their sword to protect Trump? Well Manafort already did... but the other two?
The most damning excerpts in my mind:
{
This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump
 helped along by Aras and Emin.
What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it
directly?
}
The direct email reply from Trump's son:
{
perhaps ljust speak to Emin first. Seems we
have some time and if it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer. Could we do a call first thing next week
}
Beyond the explicit admission of Russian government connection to information at a high level (perhaps some semantics can be argued whether the Russian government is actually the source of the info, but being mentioned in the same sentence should be a screaming alarm bell for anyone with any fear of getting caught or prosecution, if not basic integrity and ethics)... beyond that, Trump Jr's email response alludes to a prior conversation where he knew the general content and/or intent of the material, it indicates he was supportive of and suggesting how the other party should act with that info to most damage Hillary... so he is not just a passive listener (which would be bad enough) but acting in conjunction with, even suggesting/guiding the behavior of, another party explicitly linked to the Russian government. Definition of conspiracy, with a foreign government, to disclose data from a time period of a sitting Secretary of State.
Holy cow.
Compare these admitted facts with the text of just one section of the Espionage Act:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/793
(a) Whoever, for the purpose of obtaining information respecting the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation,...
(b) Whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, and with like intent or reason to believe, copies, takes, makes, or obtains, or attempts to copy, take, make, or obtain, any sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, document, writing, or note of anything connected with the national defense...
(c)Whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, receives or obtains or agrees or attempts to receive or obtain from any person, or from any source whatever, any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note, of anything connected with the national defense, knowing or having reason to believe, at the time he receives or obtains, or agrees or attempts to receive or obtain it, that it has been or will be obtained, taken, made, or disposed of by any person contrary to the provisions of this chapter;
(e) Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it;
(g) If two or more persons conspire to violate any of the foregoing provisions of this section, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be subject to the punishment provided for the offense which is the object of such conspiracy.
(h)
(1) Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law, any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, from any foreign government, or any faction or party or military or naval force within a foreign country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the United States, as the result of such violation. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “State” includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
(2) The court, in imposing sentence on a defendant for a conviction of a violation of this section, shall order that the defendant forfeit to the United States all property described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
Analysis:
1. Trump Jr clearly knows the data was about the sitting Secretary of State, therefore defense-related.
2. Trump Jr clearly knows the information is high level, and that Russians are involved, and that the Russian government supports Trump. Any reasonable person would conclude the information is for the benefit of a foreign government. Why else would they be involved? Not all reasonable people might recognize the specific benefit to Russia but at least it should be looked upon with suspicion and anyone should recognize that Russian involvement is for their own benefit rather than for magnanimity. Perhaps an ignorant businessperson could claim "it was a win/win situation" where Trump campaign benefits and the Russian govt benefits. But ignorance is not a defense for violating a law. One example of a way in which Russia would benefit: favorable policy treatment or other political outcome of Trump being President of USA- nationalist/internal focus with weakening of NATO for Russia to exert more influence or take more control of Europe). In a real sense, the Trump campaign's attitude toward this information might have directly resulted in the weakening of NATO and the vulnerability of Europe to Russian encroachment.
So we have a clear cut case for multiple points of guilt in Espionage Act (CFR Title 18 Section 37). The consequences of being convicted include surrendering ALL PROPERTY obtained as a consequence of this involvement. How do you quantify the benefits for the Trump family of Trump being President? Chinese trademark disputes settled... Mar a Lago upgrades... brand enhancement (you can bet they would negotiate this value as "billions" as a consequence of Trump being President, if they wanted to sell all holdings in an arms-length transaction), hotels and golf courses in every foreign nation where USA policies directly influence all business operations around the world....
Holy cow.
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