The Plot Thickens with Donald Jr.

Apparently, the list of guests in the June meeting with a Russian lawyer, Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort Jr has grown to include a Russian Counter Intelligence Individual as well as a translator. This meeting supposedly arranged to see what "dirt" the Russians could provide on Hillary Clinton and her surrogates may be the beginnings of a smoking gun that show direct collusion between the Trump Campaign and the Russian Government to change the election. Unfortunately, as earlier posts on this blog have illustrated, this is not the first time this has happened in recent history where Presidential Campaigns have worked with foreign powers to steer the trajectory of an election.

In 1968, representatives of the Nixon campaign worked behind the scenes with the South Vietnamese to damage peace talks with Vietnam to swing the election to Richard Nixon in a squeaker against Hubert Humphrey.

In 1980, representatives of the Reagan campaign were rumored to have worked with intermediaries of the Iranian government to keep United States embassy hostages captive in Tehran to make President Carter look weak.

Now with these new revelations regarding Donald Trump Jr, some supporters of the President are saying so what if this happened, it is not illegal even if there was collusion. There is some question on that depending on how campaign finance laws are interpreted. That said, if there is any doubt, both parties in Congress should push and pass laws that ensure these events never happen again. There should also be increased investigations from the special counsel Robert Muller on the potential leading roles Rudy Giluani, Mitch McConnell, and the New York Branch of the F.B.I. played in this conspiracy.

http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/another-person-in-room-during-trump-jr-meeting-997468227557

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/politics/nixon-tried-to-spoil-johnsons-vietnam-peace-talks-in-68-notes-show.html?_r=0

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/yes-nixon-scuttled-the-vietnam-peace-talks-107623

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/15/world/new-reports-say-1980-reagan-campaign-tried-to-delay-hostage-release.html

https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal92-1108669

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/comey-looking-at-whether-fbi-agents-leaked-to-giuliani

http://www.salon.com/2017/05/04/the-fbi-is-investigating-whether-rudy-giuliani-leaked-information-about-hillary-clintons-emails/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/world/national-security/obama-putin-election-hacking/?utm_term=.5d3ef9dd13d5