Thread by @SethAbramson

Knowing all we do now, this may be the most damning story *ever written* on Trump and Russia.

I hope you'll RT it. businessinsider.com/jd-gordon-trum…

2/ I assume investigators will be asking if anyone in this story was with Sessions when he met Kislyak in September to negotiate sanctions.

3/ Trump knew about Russian hacking in July 2016 and was *briefed* on it that August. So it was *illegal* to negotiate sanctions after that.

4/ And once Papadopoulos told Trump in March '16 that Putin wanted to deal, anything Trump offered Russia after was part of the negotiation.

5/ Trump-Russia collusion is now proven based on publicly reported facts: Trump offered sanctions relief to Putin for continued assistance.

6/ Per media, Trump's NatSec team was a sham: he didn't pay them; they disbanded in July. Flynn wasn't on it. It was just a tool for Trump.

7/ What Trump should've done March 31, 2016: 1) Fire Papadopoulos; 2) tell the FBI a staffer had outed himself as a "Kremlin intermediary."

8/ By hiding that—legally speaking—he had a *self-admitted Kremlin agent* on his NatSec team, Trump was colluding beginning March 31, 2016.

9/ Trump didn't report Papadopoulos to the FBI because—it seems—Trump's relationship with Sergei Millian might've gotten Papadopoulos a job.

10/ So Trump *couldn't* report Papadopoulos, as doing so would've revealed he gave him a job he hadn't earned *because of* his Kremlin ties.

11/ So now we reach the next key question: did Papadopoulos get his job with Trump via Millian? If so, Trump started colluding much earlier.

12/ But we can say this much: Trump began colluding on March 31, 2016 *at the latest*, when he hid the fact he had a Kremlin agent on staff.

13/ So, to *any person* who tells you Trump didn't collude, say this: "He knowingly kept a Kremlin agent on staff beginning March 31, 2016."

14/ If pressed for more: "On that date, the Kremlin agent on his staff told Trump he was there to create a channel between Trump and Putin."

15/ Any media reporting collusion *hasn't* been found is now misreporting. They may be well-intended, but they're misreporting. That simple.

PS/ So when I said tonight "it's over," that's what I meant: the question of whether there was collusion is now CLOSED. The *story* goes on.

PS2/ Part of that story is the cover-up. All of which—the cover-up—makes a hell of a lot more sense now that we know how collusion occurred.

PS3/ On Papadopoulos, the cover-up started in August 2017 (at the latest) with the lies Trump aides told here: dailycaller.com/2017/08/17/tru…

PS4/ We know their account of the 3/31/16 ("TIHDC") meeting is *false* because of The Washington Post's reporting: washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…

PS5/ So NO, Papadopoulos wasn't permanently shut down; NO, Trump didn't have "no reaction"; NO, Sessions didn't nix any/all Russia meetings.

PS6/ The Papadopoulos cover-up continued in September 2017, with more lies told by Trump staff on the TIHDC meeting: foxnews.com/politics/2017/…

PS7/ We now know, NO, Sessions didn't shut down the discussion; and NO, the meeting wasn't "just for cameras"—Trump issued marching orders.

PS8/ And anyone who lied—or lies—to the FBI about the sanctions negotiations or Papadopoulos is running a SERIOUS risk of federal felonies.

PS9/ So read up on *this* man; he claimed to be in contact with Papadopoulos, and WP says he's Source D for Steele. washingtonpost.com/politics/who-i…

PS10/ Per Millian (h/t DM) just days after the TIHDC meeting "Trump or his assistants" reached out to him on Russia. ria.ru/interview/2016…

PS11/ If it was Papadopoulos, the message sent to Millian—Trump will be pro-Russia—underscores Trump *didn't* ignore Papadopoulos' entreaty.

PS12/ Where did Millian get this inside info on Trump's Russia policy—if it had just been set two weeks earlier at the TIHDC? Papadopoulos?

PS13/ Note Millian confidently assures RIA that Trump will "agree on Ukraine"—a position he revealed to his NatSec team just *days* earlier.