What is plausible deniability?

Donald Trump Jnr gets contacted by a shady Russian lawyer. When asked if he wants info on Hillary Clinton (from Russia) he says hell yes. We know this from his emails which apparantly he didn't even have to release and the emails incriminate him.

He now claims that he went to the meeting but they did not tell him any information. That the whole DNC gate thing was on Wikileaks shortly after is a freak coincidence. He also says that he did not tell his Father (the person who is his boss and who he was trying to help with this clever subterfuge).

Neither of these things are credible. In fact its an insult to the intelligence which makes 'dog ate my homework' sound that an foolproof excuse. Trump Jnr is saying that might have broken the law without knowing it but wasn't aware of the law and that nothing happened anyway so its no big deal OK. Really?

There is an argument that one of the Russian objectives from the start has been to damage the reputation of America and therefore weaken it to enable them to be in a stronger negotiation position. It follows that Russia could have leaked this deliberately because - as Trump Snr has now gone against them on Syria - he is less of an asset. They can let him burn and damage America's standing in the process.

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windinhishair · 61-69, M

The Donald Jr. only released the emails when the New York Times made it clear they had them and were getting ready to release them. Then Jr. releases them and in typical Trump fashion touts his "transparency."

One of the emails says that the information to be conveyed in the meeting could also be sent to Trump Sr. directly, but due to its highly sensitive nature the Russian envoy for government interests wanted Jr. to see it first. We still don't know if Trump Sr. got it directly.

It is indeed an insult to one's intelligence to be asked to believe that nothing came of the meeting, that Trump Sr. was never told of it, and that there was no follow-up. Putin doesn't send an attorney with ties to the Kremlin to the US with nothing to share. Certainly Special Counsel Mueller is investigating all of these avenues, including future interviews under oath with Jr., Kushner, and Manafort.

You raise an excellent point about Putin potentially releasing this to damage our reputation. His objective all along was reportedly to weaken the nation and make us a laughing stock. In getting Trump elected and showing his incompetence, he has done just that. And he could do even more damage by now focusing on Trump and twisting the knife instead of supporting him.

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windinhishair · 61-69, M

@Burnley123 I think incriminating the Trumps was a big part of what Russia was trying to do. Remember, they also have the information in the dossier to hold over Trump's head, and I think they wanted to cement that relationship. That way, should Trump win, they would have an asset in the White House for the first time. And they would be in a no-lose situation. They could potentially get sanctions removed and be able to conquer more territory in Ukraine and elsewhere, or if not, they can still make the US look weak and ineffectual. They may have shared information indicating that they were going to release information through Wikileaks to help Trump, without providing the actual information.

Whatever they did, Mueller will be working hard to uncover the facts.

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windinhishair · 61-69, M

@LvChris And it is the gift that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving.

peachykeen · F

It is not difficult for me to believe Donald Trump Jr is an ignoramus. A spoiled brat ignoramus who is in competition - with his brother in law - for Daddy's attention.

And everyone thought Tiffany was the dumb one??

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@peachykeen Yes. Donald Jnr is meant to be the smartest offspring behind Ivanka. FFS

sogdianrock · 61-69, M

whodunnit?

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