DiscoGary wrote:
Wait! Are we saying that talking to Russians to obtain damaging information on a political opponent is collusion? Well then, Schiff is guilty of collusion!
No, that's not what I said.
Trump was looking for information to damage his political opponent as part of his campaign strategy. Trump knew that a hostile nation had hacked the emails of American politicians and political entities and did not notify law enforcement. When the story about Jr., Kushner, and Manafort meeting with Russians broke, he tried to cover it up again and made it even worse. A scheme like this would naturally involve some sort of quid pro quo arrangement, and we can insinuate exactly that from how the Trump administration has dealt with Russia over the last year.
Schiff is a ranking member on a committee that is actively investigating Trump's relationship with Russia. If he obtained information about the President being subject to blackmail and passed it along to law enforcement, that would only constitute doing his job. If he had actually obtained a naked picture of Trump based partly on promises to promote Russia-friendly policies, kept it all quiet, and then used it in an attack ad leading up to the midterms, then maybe you'd have a point.
You see the difference? In one scenario, national security was the justification for speaking with (fake) Russians, and the appropriate legal guidelines were followed. In the other scenario, political opportunism was the justification for speaking with Russians, putting the President in a situation where he could be subject to blackmail, and this contact was covered up and not reported to law enforcement.
Spin away, Jazzy Jeff.
