Thread by @SethAbramson

(THREAD) BREAKING: The thesis discussed at the link below has been confirmed—and it's a smoking gun on collusion.

1/ The September thread above strove to prove that Trump knew Putin wanted to negotiate with his campaign on March 31st, 2016 at the latest.

2/ The basis for the thread's argument was a March 31st, 2016 meeting—pictured above—attended by both Donald Trump and George Papadopoulos.

3/ The argument was that—on that date, at the Trump International Hotel in D.C.—Papadopoulos told Trump that Putin wanted to deal with him.

4/ If Trump was legally put on notice that the Kremlin wanted to deal as of that date, his subsequent actions would be considered collusion.

5/ THE DAILY CALLER—a conservative publication—has just confirmed that Papadopoulos revealed himself as a Kremlin agent on March 31st, 2016.

6/ Per the reports linked to in the thread atop *this* thread, Papadopoulos told Trump's NatSec team he was acting on behalf of the Kremlin.

7/ He said he had contacts among "top officials" at the Kremlin and he was seeking to *help them meet with Trump* (preferably) or his aides.

8/ These top Kremlin officials—per Papadopoulos' emails—included Vladimir Putin himself. Papadopoulos was acting as an agent to assist them.

9/ At the time I wrote the thread linked to in the first tweet above—9/22—there was only *circumstantial evidence* of what Trump was told.

10/ At the time I said the media needed to speak to people who were at the TIHDC on March 31, 2016 to find out if Trump was indeed notified.

11/ THE DAILY CALLER believed it was assisting Trump by reporting (falsely) that Trump's NatSec team "shot down" Papadopoulos' entreaties.

12/ THE DAILY CALLER also thought it aided Trump to say—perhaps accurately, we don't know—that Sessions shot down Papadopoulos at the TIHDC.

13/ In fact, the issue was only ever whether Trump was put on legal notice on March 31st, 2016 that the Kremlin wanted to open negotiations.

14/ If Trump had that knowledge and took steps to negotiate with the Russians, it would be collusion; if he did so *post-hacking*, a crime.

15/ Here are the actions we *know* Trump took *at the TIHDC on March 31*: a) he ordered his NatSec team to secretly change the GOP platform.

16/ We know this because the man tasked with changing the platform to benefit Russia told media that Trump ordered him to do it on March 31.

17/ We know the effort was intended as secret because the campaign's Campaign Manager lied about it—as did the man who changed the platform.

18/ At the TIHDC on March 31, Trump also b) failed to fire Papadopoulos on the spot after Papadopoulos revealed himself as a Kremlin agent.

19/ "Agent" is a legal term. It means another party has secured your services to perform a task, and that "consideration" has been provided.

20/ A "general agent" can perform many tasks for his "principal." A "special agent" is *only* authorized to perform a single important task.

21/ Top officials at the Kremlin—by Papadopoulos' confession—authorized him as a "special agent" to arrange Trump campaign-Kremlin meetings.

22/ The consideration he received was the task itself—it gave him something of value to offer Trump's NatSec team, and so kept him employed.

23/ At the time Papadopoulos—a recent college grad—was announced by Trump as one of a dozen NatSec advisors, media said he wasn't qualified.

24/ And indeed—objectively—Papadopoulos had no reason to be hired by Sam Clovis or anyone on Team Trump. But he did have useful information.

25/ Contrary to the reporting by THE DAILY CALLER, Trump's NatSec team did *not* shoot down Papadopoulos. In fact, they did the *opposite*.

26/ As was reported—see thread in the first tweet—a month after Sessions "shot down" Papadopoulos, the team was still discussing his offer.

27/ If Sessions—NatSec chief—shot down the idea March 31, Clovis wouldn't have been discussing sending a "private citizen" to Moscow in May.

28/ Likewise, Trump's NatSec team wouldn't have engaged in a weeks-long conversation about the logistics and law of a Kremlin-Trump meeting.

29/ Likewise, Manafort wouldn't have said, over email, "Trump can't be involved," as Sessions would've indicated *no one* could be involved.

29/ So Trump was told Papadopoulos was a *Kremlin agent*, and he immediately ordered his team to change the GOP platform to benefit Russia.

30/ And he kept Papadopoulos on staff—thus keeping the boy's Kremlin contacts close and allowing the full team to discuss a Kremlin meeting.

31/ The team decided a "private citizen" could hold secret meetings in Moscow. In July, Page went to Moscow as— he says—a "private citizen."

32/ And according to the US intelligence community—and as reported by major media at the time—Page met with top Kremlin officials in Moscow.

33/ Now here's what Trump and his team did *after* Trump learned the Russians (up to Putin himself) wanted to negotiate with him personally:

34/ Shortly after the March 31st, 2016 meeting, Trump—per the IC and major-media reports—had his son call the Russian ambassador (Kislyak).

35/ The result was Kislyak breaching diplomatic protocol to appear as a VIP at Trump's first foreign policy speech (at the Mayflower Hotel).

36/ At the VIP cocktail hour before the speech, Kislyak got to meet Trump *and* Sessions, who had allegedly "shot down" any Russia meetings.

37/ Trump then gave a speech in which he promised to give Russia a "good deal"—on sanctions—if elected POTUS. Kislyak was in the front row.

38/ After Kislyak watched—live—Trump change the GOP platform at the RNC as a sign of good faith to Putin, he *asked Sessions for a meeting*.

39/ I want to be clear here: everything in this thread is confirmed by major-media reporting. I'm just summarizing the reporting we have.

40/ Per Sessions' last testimony, we know Kislyak asked him at the RNC to talk sanctions and did talk sanctions at their September meeting.

41/ There is reason to believe the two men who met with Kislyak and Sessions in September were at the RNC *and* got the Papadopoulos emails.

42/ When Sessions talked sanctions at the RNC and on 9/8—and if the others did too—at least Sessions, maybe all, knew it was a negotiation.

43/ And unless Sessions *hid his meetings with Kislyak from Trump*, Trump too knew that what his team was doing was negotiating with Russia.

44/ And the reason all of them knew this is that PAPADOPOULOS HAD TOLD THEM SO IN PERSON on March 31, 2016 at the Trump International Hotel.

45/ This may explain why the Senate Intel Committee now wants to talk to Papadopoulos and its staffers have been asking witnesses about him.

46/ As detailed by THE DAILY CALLER, someone at the 3/31 TIHDC meeting spilled the beans—most likely Keith Kellogg. dailycaller.com/2017/10/20/thi…

47/ I say this because Kellogg's Mueller interview lines up with the sudden release of this info about a meeting only a dozen men attended.

48/ Obviously Trump and Sessions didn't leak it—and haven't spoken to Mueller—nor the man Trump tasked with secretly changing the platform.

49/ So the list of already-interviewed people who could've leaked this bombshell about Papadopoulos is surprisingly small as far as we know.

50/ But it IS a bombshell. It means the Senate KNOWS Trump began negotiating with Putin in April 2016 and CONTINUED after hacking was known.

PS/ Aiding and abetting via negotiation—offering, reports imply, no-strings sanctions relief—to a nation waging cyberwar on us is a *crime*.

PS2/ If THE DAILY CALLER is correct that Trump knew Putin wanted to negotiate as of 3/31/16, Trump colluded *and* committed crimes doing so.

PS3/ It also means the two most important witnesses in the whole Russia probe are Papadopoulos and the man asked to change the GOP platform.

PS4/ These two witnesses can CONFIRM Trump was told a negotiation had started and CONFIRM Trump took steps to make Putin preliminary offers.

PS5/ It also explains why Sessions has NOT been interviewed by Mueller yet—because he's a primary target of the FBI probe, along with Trump.

PS6/ The story of collusion is now clear—and confirmed by exclusively major-media reporting. Trump used Sessions, Flynn and Sessions' aides.

PS7/ Kushner substantially assisted by calling Kislyak in April and calling Kislyak in November to set a December meeting with Mike Flynn.

PS8/ Such collusion would require involvement from very few—Trump, Kushner, Manafort, Sessions, Flynn, Papadopoulos, Page, 2 Sessions aides.

PS9/ A conspiracy of fewer than ten people would, by the means described here, be able to negotiate with Russia both openly and in secret.

PS10/ Today's news confirms Trump negotiated sanctions relief before AND after he learned of Russian hacks in July '16. Thus—collusion. /end

NOTE: The chances Mueller won't demand the Senate postpone its Papadopoulos interview are low—and certainly no open hearing will be allowed.

NOTE2: Papadopoulos told the NatSec team the Kremlin wanted "to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump"—i.e. they sought assurances.

NOTE3: I neglected to mention the best part! An acquaintance of Papadopoulos is said to be the source for much of the Steele dossier. {boom}

NOTE4: So what this thread describes is a series of events that connects, explains and confirms *all* major-media reporting on Trump-Russia.

NOTE5: Again, *all* I'm doing is networking major-media reporting in a way the journalists themselves aren't doing. I don't have a "theory."