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At Columbia for this panel about the Russia investigation w/ @emptywheel @BuzzFeedBen @keithgessen @JeffreyToobin events.columbia.edu/cal/event/show…
@JeffreyToobin admits he was wrong, like many in media were, for writing Mueller found ‘no evidence’ of Trump-Russia coordination
@emptywheel says part 2 of the Mueller report is best understood as an “impeachment referral” since it outlines a “great deal of crime”
Toobin and Wheeler seem to disagree on the Mueller report part 1’s findings, but both agree part 2 outlines...so many crimes.
“In common parlance, the Trump campaign did collude with Russia, but they did not engage in criminal activity.” - @keithgessen
Wheeler draws a distinction between “no criminal activity” and “not criminally chargeable” -
As in, actions that couldn’t “sustain prosecution on appeal,” according to Mueller.
@JeffreyToobin agrees with DOJ policy that you can’t indict a sitting president. He thinks it’s good from a constitutional and legal POV.
@BuzzFeedBen reminds us that the Trump Org offered a penthouse to Putin in Trump Tower Moscow, “an amazing story” that’s also key context
(context for understanding, at least partially, why so many Trump folks lied about contacts with Russia in 2016)
“These people lie so much.” - @BuzzFeedBen on the Trump orbit
Russian journalist asks what they’ve learned about Russia from the last few years of reporting
“Well, I read Part 1 of the Report and I learned the Russian gov’t very much wanted Donald Trump to be elected.” - @JeffreyToobin
@JeffreyToobin “And after watching the press conference in Helsinki, I can see why.” - @JeffreyToobin
When asked why Mueller didn’t investigate Trump and money laundering, @BuzzFeedBen notes that NYC is “built on it.”
@BuzzFeedBen says US laws about money laundering and real estate are part of the problem. wish @cjcmichel were here to jump in
