Hysteria over Trump-Kremlin ‘collusion’ out of control
Hysteria among the media and Trump opponents over the prospect of “collusion” between theTrump campaign and the Kremlinmay have hit its crescendo thisweek. That’s right: Thewailing fromthe media and their allies aboutDonald Trump Jr.’s meetingwith some “Kremlinconnected Russian lawyer” (whatever that means) may be the last gasp of this faux scandal. Good riddance.
Predictably, TheNewYorkTimes started the ball rollingwith front-page coverage, going so far as to argue, “The accounts of the meeting represent the first public indication that at least some in the campaignwere willing to accept Russian help.” As if thiswere some breakthrough moment. The Times followed up with a headlineMonday that the meeting request and subject matter discussed in the prior storywere transmitted toTrump Jr. via an email. Holy cow. The Times is so desperate tomove the story that the meeting’s arrangement over email is being made into Page1news. You would have thought it had come through a dead drop under a bridge somewhere.
And, of course, CNNhas been apoplectic in its breathless coverage, running one story after another about this “development” on the air and online. But Politico takes the prize for the most over-the-top, made-up news, claiming that Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting could amount to a crime.
As I have written before, there are always people hovering around campaigns trying to peddle information and traffic in supposed silver bullets. There should be nothing to report onwhen a private citizen whoworks at a campaign takes a meeting with a friend of a friend offering information about an opponent. And yet, the mediawants to make it a smoking gun.
If takingmeetings with such people is a crime, then I hope there is a statute of limitations— because Iwould have been a repeat offender.
Don’t getmewrong. Trump Jr. should not have taken the meeting. These offers of information on the down-loware greeted with eye-rolling, and red flags are almost always clearly visible. No senior campaign official, much less a family member of the candidate, should take such a meeting.
Having the meetingwas a rookie, amateur mistake. Between human curiosity and a campaign professional’s duty to get the dirt when you can, Trump Jr. likely felt that the person had to be heard. However, the meeting should have been handed off to a lackey. Said lackeywould have then reported the scoop— or lack thereof— and awaited further instruction.
Anyway, Trump Jr. took the one-off meeting, and nothing happened. Is that not proof of non-collusion in and of itself? If you choose to believe otherwise, your disdain for President DonaldTrump is getting the best of you and you need help.
Regarding the delusion that a crime actually occurred in any of this, my favorite allegation is that by having this meeting and listening to whatwas said, Donald Trump Jr. somehowcould have violated the law. According to Politico, Trump Jr.’s “statements put him potentially in legal cross hairs for violating federal criminal statutes prohibiting solicitation or acceptance of anything of value froma foreign national, aswell as a conspiracy to defraud theUnited States.”
I’m just barely a lawyer, but I knowover-lawyering when I see it. Imean, by that standard, what if someonewalked into a campaign and suggested an idea that led to that candidate’s victory? Would it have been a crime to accept “a thing of value” in the form of an idea? Of course not. This whole thing is gettingweird. For many in the media and elsewhere, the collective grievances they have against Trump personally, the WhiteHouse as a whole andTrump’s policies somehow justify their zealous promotion of the “collusion scandal.” But not because the story is valid. Rather, the media knowthat they are not getting toTrump with anything else. Today, much of the “news coverage” ofTrump and Co. is about payback. The media thinks they aren’t getting the truth and so they don’t have to deliver it either. It is a bad cycle that is notworking for the WhiteHouse or the media.
Ed Rogers is a political consultant and veteran of the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush WhiteHouses.