Thread by @SethAbramson

In the past I and others have argued that Trump pushing unilaterally for an end to sanctions on Russia is a public effort to set a quid pro quo with Putin, with the expectation of illegal election aid. That's how you should read Trump's call yesterday for Russia to rejoin the G7.

Some apparently don't understand that when a nation commits a war crime and is punished for doing so, and then the leader of one of the nations that pushed for sanctions unilaterally says "nevermind," it means they feel they're getting something back. Sanctions drops aren't free.

It's outrageous that media didn't call Trump's unilateral push to end a key piece of the sanctions regime against Russia a public attempt to curry favor with a nation he well knows is about to help him win a presidential election. The time for us acting dumb on this is long over.

Just because Trump is willing to lie repeatedly about why Russia was dumped from the G7 does not mean that American media is relieved of its responsibility for asking Trump what America is getting back in exchange for dropping a piece of the sanctions it rightfully put on Russia.

The answer to "what *America* gets back if it unilaterally drops a piece of its sanctions on Russia by advocating for Putin's return to the G7" is *nothing*. Absolutely *nothing*. The answer to what *Trump* would be getting is "illegal election aid in 2020." We need to *wake up*.

The perversion of the 2020 election is happening *right now*. Trump has deliberately taken *no steps* to protect America's electoral infrastructure from Russia, even as he is being told Russia is still cyber-attacking us and even as he is *advocating for Russia to rejoin the G7*.

So the answer to the question, "Why does Trump keep telling lies about the basis for Russia being tossed from the G7?" is that if he tells the truth he'll be asked a question he can't answer: "Why, then, should we drop any sanctions on Russia? What do *we* get?"