Now We Have a Roadmap to the Trump Campaign's Collusion with Russia - Jonathan Chait
July 1, 2017
9:34 am
Most of the commentary surrounding the Russia scandal has treated the possibility that Donald Trumps campaign deliberately colluded with Moscow as remote, unfounded speculation. The new reporting that has broken this weekend suggests instead that this collusion likely did take place. It provides a roadmap to the, or perhaps a, likely avenue through which this occurred.
The figure carrying out the operation in question was Peter W. Smith, who died at the age of 81 earlier this year. Smith is hardly a lone kook. Hes an established Republican donor with a demonstrated history in financing ethically murky investigations, such as paying Arkansas state troopers for stories of Bill Clintons sexual dalliances.
Smith surfaced earlier in the week in an explosive Wall Street Journal report by Shane Harris, which Harris followed-up Friday night. What really underscores the significance of Harriss reporting, though, is a detailed account, also published Friday night, by Matt Tait, a British cybersecurity expert who dealt extensively with Smith. Taits report makes it clear that Smith had access to Michael Flynn, at the very least, and was working not only to obtain stolen Clinton emails but also to hide the Trump campaigns involvement.
Tait had established some expertise analyzing Clintons emails. As Tait explains, he warned Smith that Russia had been conducting an attack on the U.S. elections, but Smith appeared completely unconcerned about it. Smith tried to hire Tait for his project, and showed him a document creating an independent-looking organization to try to acquire the stolen emails. The document, Tait reports, detailed a company Smith and his colleagues had set up as a vehicle to conduct the research: KLS Research, set up as a Delaware LLC to avoid campaign reporting, and listing four groups who were involved in one way or another. This certainly appears like an attempt to mask the Trump campaigns involvement in the plot.
The document listed a series of high-level Trump campaign officials: Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Sam Clovis, Lt. Gen. Flynn, and Lisa Nelson. Bannon and Conway, contacted by the Journal, deny any involvement with Smith. But Smiths comments to Tait indicate a fairly close understanding of Trump campaign internal dynamics. It is possible he was bluffing, but he seemed to be displaying authentic insider credentials.
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