"Clinton sought info from Russia through cutouts" is the new contortion to try to get the Trump family off the hook for dealing with Russia.
The people pushing it know it's wrong, but in case we need a reminder, here's a couple of points. /1
The people pushing it know it's wrong, but in case we need a reminder, here's a couple of points. /1
First, using an experienced spy from an *allied* country as a contractor to root around for dirt is ugly, but not off the charts. For one thing, the info gets vetted into a report, with caveats about reliability (as Steele did). /2
More to the point, using someone like Steele is like asking a retired cop to sniff around some of the bad guys he used to bust to see if they have info.
What the Trumps did was accept an offer of help *from the bad guys directly themselves*. /3
What the Trumps did was accept an offer of help *from the bad guys directly themselves*. /3
If you're investigating a crime, this is the difference between using that ex-cop to get dirt, and taking a call from Whitey Bulger himself with an offer of help. (Spoiler: that happened, and an FBI guy went to jail for it.) /4
If you won't see the difference between an oppo campaign that used Steele - who had more sources than Russians, btw - and taking a direct call and offer of help from people you *know* had to be jungled up with Russian intelligence, you're either dishonest or stupid. /5x
