Quick thread on 2 items Trumpkins might try to tout: (1) indictment saying Trump team's contact with Russians was "unwitting" and (2) Rosenstein noting that the indictment doesn't allege that Russia flipped the election result. Neither gets Trump campaign off the hook. 1/
The indictment says some defendants, pretending to be Americans, communicated with "unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign." What's more important is what that *doesn't* say. 2/ 
We don't know what else Mueller knows. If these defendants also had darker, knowing interactions with Team Trump, Mueller was under no obligation to tell us in this indictment. Indeed, he'd have ample reason not to tip his hand. 3/
Nor do we know whether *other* Russians were involved and if they coordinated with the Trump campaign. The Internet Research Agency may be just one piece of a multifaceted scheme -- Assange, Trump Tower meeting, other email hacks -- all very different pieces from IRA. 4/
As for Rosenstein, he was speaking directly for Trump's benefit when he said the indictment doesn't allege that Russian interference tipped the election outcome. 5/
Who knows if Russia flipped the result? Mueller couldn't prove that w/o evidence that Russians hacked the vote count. And it's legally irrelevant -- if I vote 200 times, and my candidate wins by 200,000 votes, I'm still in big trouble. 6/
But it's very important for a president who is insecure by nature -- and specifically insecure over an election in which he lost the popular vote. 7/
Rosenstein is telling Trump: “Relax, this isn't about undoing the election, so let Mueller and me keep our jobs.” 8/
To sum up: we have no idea whether this indictment is the end of the collusion story. It might not be the beginning of the end -- or even the end of the beginning. 9/end
P.S. [chef kissing fingers] 
