If Donald Trump Is a Crook, What Kind Is He?

[L. Coyote]

https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/07/06/what-kind-of-crook-is-donald-trump/amp/

Susan Hennessey and Benjamin Wittes


Over the past couple of weeks, the prevailing meme among some Donald Trump-defending reporters and commentators has shifted in a subtle but important way. For months, such folks have hewed to the line that no evidence had yet surfaced of “collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russian efforts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Now, they say, collusion wouldn’t be such a big deal if it did occur — certainly not illegal.

Take Fox News. In discussing a reported grand jury investigation, Brit Hume confidently declared: “But what crime? Can anybody identify the crime? Collusion, while obviously it would be alarming and highly inappropriate for the Trump campaign, of which there is no evidence by the way, of colluding with the Russians. It’s not a crime.”

Sean Hannity made a similar point: ..............

[Thomas Hurt]

1. Why are you fixated on the word collusion?

[Shell_Seas]

2. I like conspiracy better.

conspiracy to commit election fraud or conspiracy to obtain information from a foreign adversary

[L. Coyote]

3. Collusion is a legal term. I'd say they are because of the definition of the word:

col·lu·sion, noun: secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially in order to cheat or deceive others.

synonyms: conspiracy, connivance, complicity, intrigue, plotting, secret understanding, collaboration, scheming

Law: illegal cooperation or conspiracy

[Thomas Hurt]

4. collusion is not the criminal statute or the elements that must be proved beyond reasonable doubt

that is what will determine whether Donnie is dirty.

Collusion is being thrown around in a general sense. Short hand for what exactly they are still investigating.

Donnie is not guilty of anything yet of course. Doesn't look good but it does not matter until Congress or the juries sing and say he or one of his lackeys is guilty.

In the end it may not be that Donnie himself is guilty of anything, if his lackeys protected him.

In the end it may be that Donnie and GOP just comes off as incompetent, servile and gullible.

Donnie's and the GOPs brand may be the only things hit.

[L. Coyote]

5. Explicit awareness of Russia's attempt to alter our election as the context of collusion is criminal

The driver of the escape car at a bank robbery is colluding. Would you say he's not a criminal because he didn't rob the bank himself? Context and knowledge are everything.

[Orsino]

6. The lazy kind.

He may not be smart enough to conspire, or to plan much of anything, but he could be steered into almost anything by someone promising to do the work for him.

[L. Coyote]

7. Except a global business empire and a presidential campaign.

On the face of it, what you say is really ridiculous. He is more a criminal mastermind than a lazy dope.

[Orsino]

8. He coasts on his name, and has no time for complicated business dealings...

...let alone secret collusion with foreign powers. I think that when he met with Russians, it's because someone smarter told him to.

He has never "masterminded" anything in his life, as far as I can tell.

[Maeve]

9. Receiving or soliciting value from a foreign national in a presidential campaign

https://www.yahoo.com/news/did-donald-trump-jr-russia-190909232.html