The Trumphumpers and mouth-pieces have been telling us that "collusion isn't a crime."

[MrScorpio]

Except for one thing, "collusion" as they call it, isn't Trump's true problem... It's more like something that they've made up. A bogey man for the rubes to throw rotten oranges at.

So, what are his real problems?

Well, there's money laundering, there's conspiracy to commit violations of campaign financing laws, there's perjury, there's conspiracy to obstruct justice, there's all the political faux pas that he's committed, his lies about everything, his incompetence, his violations of the Emoluments Clause, his attacks on the free press, there's his violations of international asylum laws, his contempt for our courts, his contempt for our allies and his deference to our adversaries, his unwillingness to protect our national interests, his use of public office to benefit his own private interests, his abuse of power, and the fact that he's a fucking asshole.

"Collusion," if anything is the least of his problems. However, that won't stop him and his cult from using it as a deflection. Everything he says is a deflection, a straw man that only he can see. He's notorious for running away from the things that he's scared about. Although most people are aware of the things he blurts out, it's the things that we're all aware of that he never addresses that points to the keys to his downfall.

He's screams about Mueller because he has his cult running Congress right now. If and when we take that away from him, you can best believe that he'll put Mueller out of his mind.

He hasn't really mentioned the prospect of losing a compliant, GOPr controlled Congress because that, above all other things, scares the shit out of him.

Cohen scares the hit out of him.

Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougall scares the shit out of him.

Exposing where he got his money and how much he actually has scares the shit out him.

His tax returns revealed scares the shit out of him.

Not getting any adulation or recognition for his self-delusions really scares the shit out of him.

His own emptiness as a human being scares the shit out him.

He's a frightened, little man... "Collusion," is like his flopsy bunny that he holds on to while he's sucking his thumb on his way to sleeping at night.

So don't mind "collusion," there are better fish to fry.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

1. Well, it's not like they're legal experts or anything

Putting aside all of the other Trump crimes that are the hallmark of his career, the meeting with the Russians in Trump Tower comes with a whole lot of problems for Trump and his crime syndicate:

§30121. Contributions and donations by foreign nationals
(a) Prohibition

It shall be unlawful for-

(1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make-

(A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;

(B) a contribution or donation to a committee of a political party; or

(C) an expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication (within the meaning of section 30104(f)(3) of this title); or

(2) a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) from a foreign national.
(b) "Foreign national" defined

As used in this section, the term "foreign national" means-

(1) a foreign principal, as such term is defined by section 611(b) of title 22, except that the term "foreign national" shall not include any individual who is a citizen of the United States; or

(2) an individual who is not a citizen of the United States or a national of the United States (as defined in section 1101(a)(22) of title 8) and who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined by section 1101(a)(20) of title 8.

and from the FEC's guidance on the involvement of foreign nationals in the electoral process:

The FEC often receives questions about the rules governing foreign nationals’ participation in U.S. elections. While this article responds to some of the most common questions, it does not cover all aspects of foreign national activity. Readers should consult the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) and Commission regulations, advisory opinions, and relevant case law for additional information. For questions involving proposed activity for which there may not be clear guidance, you may consider requesting your own advisory opinion (AO) from the Commission. Please note, however, that the Commission’s jurisdiction is limited to provisions of the Act and does not include other laws that may also apply to foreign national activity.

The Act and Commission regulations include a broad prohibition on foreign national activity in connection with elections in the United States. 52 U.S.C. § 30121 and generally, 11 CFR 110.20. In general, foreign nationals are prohibited from the following activities:

Making any contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or making any expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement in connection with any federal, state or local election in the United States;
Making any contribution or donation to any committee or organization of any national, state, district, or local political party (including donations to a party nonfederal account or office building account);
Making any disbursement for an electioneering communication;
Making any donation to a presidential inaugural committee.

Persons who knowingly and willfully engage in these activities may be subject to an FEC enforcement action, criminal prosecution, or both.

https://www.fec.gov/updates/foreign-nationals/

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. And Rudy is playing semantic games when he talks about "collusion."

It's true that there is no federal offense called collusion except in antitrust law. But conspiracy is a crime, and collusion for the purpose of furthering a criminal act is the separate crime of conspiracy. There's also no crime on the books called "whacking," either, but if your dumbass lawyer goes on tv and claims you only whacked some guy and there's no crime called whacking, you're going down for the actual crime of murder.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. Of course collusion isn't the crime but they are just gishgalloping it...

to confuse the real issues. Rudy's job isn't as a lawyer, but chief of propaganda.

Repeat a lie enough and it becomes the truth. This is how Trump and Giuliani operate.

[Cicada]

4. Conspiracy to commit cyber crime