NY MAG: What If Trump Has Been A Russian Asset Since 1987?

[kpete]

Will Trump Be Meeting With His Counterpart — Or His Handler?
A plausible theory of mind-boggling collusion.

By Jonathan Chait

Artwork by Barbara Kruger for New York


..........

The unfolding of the Russia scandal has been like walking into a dark cavern. Every step reveals that the cave runs deeper than we thought, and after each one, as we wonder how far it goes, our imaginations are circumscribed by the steps we have already taken. The cavern might go just a little farther, we presume, but probably not much farther. And since trying to discern the size and shape of the scandal is an exercise in uncertainty, we focus our attention on the most likely outcome, which is that the story goes a little deeper than what we have already discovered. Say, that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort told their candidate about the meeting they held at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer after they were promised dirt on Hillary Clinton; and that Trump and Kushner have some shady Russian investments; and that some of Trump’s advisers made some promises about lifting sanctions.

But what if that’s wrong? What if we’re still standing closer to the mouth of the cave than the end?

.........

Suppose we are currently making the same mistake we made at the outset of this drama — suppose the dark crevices of the Russia scandal run not just a little deeper but a lot deeper. If that’s true, we are in the midst of a scandal unprecedented in American history, a subversion of the integrity of the presidency. It would mean the Cold War that Americans had long considered won has dissolved into the bizarre spectacle of Reagan’s party’s abetting the hijacking of American government by a former KGB agent. It would mean that when Special Counsel Robert Mueller closes in on the president and his inner circle, possibly beginning this summer, Trump may not merely rail on Twitter but provoke a constitutional crisis.

And it would mean the Russia scandal began far earlier than conventionally understood and ended later — indeed, is still happening. As Trump arranges to meet face-to-face and privately with Vladimir Putin later this month, the collusion between the two men metastasizing from a dark accusation into an open alliance, it would be dangerous not to consider the possibility that the summit is less a negotiation between two heads of state than a meeting between a Russian-intelligence asset and his handler.



the rest (LOTS!):
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/07/trump-putin-russia-collusion.html

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[dalton99a]

1. The article is a must read.

[dewsgirl]

4. Excellent chart!

[sagetea]

2. K&R this IS a must read!

[dewsgirl]

3. Have you read House of Trump House of Putin?

It does an extensive deep dive into the subject. I highly recommend it.😳

[smirkymonkey]

5. What if? I think it's pretty safe to say that he has been all along.

Where else do you think all that sweet, sweet cash has been coming from to keep him afloat?

[Bluepinky]

6. I believe that Trump has been a Russian ass(et) for a long time.

I remember Eric Trump’s response to a question a couple of years ago about where the Trumps get their money, “We get all the money we need from Russia.”

[LuvNewcastle]

8. So do I.

He favors Russia at every turn in his foreign policy and his divisive rhetoric in domestic politics also serves Putin's ends. He's trying to start a civil war in this country, and he just might be able to do it if his little followers heed the call when he squeals. Putin wants a divided U.S. that is too consumed in its turbulent domestic affairs to be involved in foreign politics. Donald Trump is a traitor to this country and has been for a long time.

[mr_lebowski]

7. Read when it came out last year ... it's a good one ... pretty speculative but good (nt)

[not_the_one]

9. American banks were SO tired of winning, with the turd, they cut him off.

The turd was so pissed (off, or on, take your pick ), he decided HE WOULD SHOW THEM!!!

That first russian loan sealed the deal.

[gibraltar72]

10. What if??

[Amaryllis]

11. THis all of us have known for a very long time:

"..the summit is less a negotiation between two heads of state than a meeting between a Russian-intelligence asset and his handler" about their entire relationship. Good it's coming out in the magazine, thought. Hopefully more media will tumble to it.