TPM Reader RM thinks TPM Reader JB is missing a key point. Here’s RM and then I’ll share a few thoughts at the end …
I think TPM Reader JB misses a key point of the Trump Tower meeting. Specific ‘collusion dirt’ was provided by the Russians in the Trump Tower meeting. The issue was that Junior didn’t like the ‘dirt’ that was offered and implied through his specific criticisms and subdued response that the Russians needed to bring better ‘dirt’, and that the Trump campaign left the door open to further explore matters should such ‘better dirt’ be provided. In addition, the Russians made a big deal of the Magnitsky Act and Bill Browder, indicating that they demanded something in exchange for the ‘dirt’ they were willing to provide to help the Trump campaign. That’s a quid pro quo: ‘we give you dirt, you consider our wish list’. Junior gave every indication of support for that concept in this meeting.
This is probably nothing. But it got my attention. A few days ago two Trump supporters at the President’s rally in Ohio showed up in T-Shirts that read “I’d Rather Be a Russian Than a Democrat”. A reporter at the event asked them where they got it and one of the men said he’d printed them up himself. Then about a day later what appears to the be the same kind of shirt showed up in the hands of a Russian TV presenter.
Okay, earlier we noted that the shirt those two Trumpers in Ohio were wearing at the rally over the weekend showed up on Russian TV as an example of rising Republican support for Russia and Russia collusion. This was a rabbit hole my colleague Matt Shuham and I couldn’t not go down. So what’s the story? Did they both order it off the same Trumper website? Did the Russians send it to the dudes in Ohio? Or did the Russians see it on social media and whip up their own? Well, I think we’ve solved this mystery. Read More
Two document dumps on the voting rights front this week. One gives us a window into what was going on at Trump’s voter fraud commission. The other further underscores that the addition of a question about citizenship to the Census didn’t initially have anything to do with DOJ efforts to enforce the Voting Rights Act, despite administration claims to the contrary.
Read about those, and more, in our weekly primer on voting rights and democracy (Prime access) →
One of the abiding, albeit far from the most consequential, mysteries of the Trump/Russia story is how we ended up with the word “collusion” as the canonical term of art at the center of the story. I thought I’d remembered that one or more publications had investigated this minor mystery. But when I asked if anyone remembered such an article I was pointed to this actually quite recent (6.29.18) post from Lawfare. Victoria Clark, a senior at Georgetown who interns at the site, investigated the question and her explanation seems pretty definitive. Read More
Six Weeks After Trump Tower Meeting, Donald Trump Jr is Asked for the First Time About a Russian "Plot" to Elect Donald Trump President. pic.twitter.com/SUyop42P49
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 7, 2018
This is a fascinating, disturbing story. Our alliance with Saudi Arabia and the UAE and our support for their proxy war in Yemen has led us back into what looks a lot like a de facto alliance with al Qaida. At a minimum it’s an agreement not to fight each other. It’s complex of course. But the key is that fighting the Houthis, Shia rebels backed by Iran, trumps fighting al Qaida. In addition to this, “coalition-backed militias actively recruit al-Qaida militants, or those who were recently members, because they’re considered exceptional fighters.” It’s a must-read. Read it here.
We’re seeing the defense coming into view here. Manafort attorney unfolds story of “the secret life of Rick Gates.” Latest report here from MacNeal and Sneed.
This is an amazing story, showing Republicans finding increasingly baroque and convoluted ways to engage in election fraud.
Okay, lot of big news today. Read our colleagues Sneed and MacNeal’s final wrap on today’s dramatic Gates’ testimony. We also released a new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast with my interview with Marcy Wheeler. Fascinating stuff in there about the Trump/Russia big picture. But now we’ve got a pretty consequential election night ahead of us. So stay tuned for our coverage of results in the big races.