Yes or No, Do you still believe that Trump conspired with Russia?

[regnaD kciN]

185. This is about as predictable as taking a poll of biologists as to whether evolution is true...

I'll just say the following:

We have a vast amount of documented evidence in the public view that people allied with Trump's campaign were offered a deal by go-betweens of the Russian executive. We know they did not dismiss this offer, and that they helped pass along helpful materials to those go-betweens. We know that the Russian government did, in fact, interfere massively in the 2016 election to help elect Trump (hell, we know that from Barr's own memo). We know that Donald Trump publicly called on the Russians to hack the Clinton campaign, that they changed the G.O.P. platform in a pro-Russian direction, and that Trump, upon taking office, attempted to lift sanctions against them. We know that Trump has met with Putin in private, sworn any interpreters to secrecy, seized their notes, and publicly taken Putin's side against his own Justice and State Departments.

I have been made to understand that there are a number of clear-cut crimes involved in accepting the assistance of any foreign government (whether that assistance is in terms of money or services rendered). In fact, I have also been made to understand that failing to report such offers is in itself a crime.

Then again, we also have the conclusion of the Mueller investigation that there was no basis for charging conspiracy or coordination on the part of anyone in the Trump campaign.

To state the obvious, there seems to be a clear disconnect here. The question is, which of the following was the case:

1) That we were misinformed about the law, and that such contacts, even if appearing questionable, weren't crimes after all?

2) That such documented incidents weren't as they were reported?

3) That, while there was some evidence for conspiracy/coordination, it wasn't strong or convincing enough to justify prosecution?

4) That, the way Comey and Rosenstein drew up the investigation's brief, the investigation was hamstrung by being limited to direct activity between official members of the Trump campaign (of which Don Jr. and Jared weren't a part) and official Russian government officials and employees (of which none of the motley crew of Putin's go-betweens they dealt with were), and that, thus, Mueller wasn't empowered to consider such contacts at all?

5) Some other factor(s) I haven't even thought of yet?

The problem, in fact, is that the only way we can figure out if any of these options is the case is by seeing the full report...and heaven knows if and when that will ever happen. So, for the moment, all I can say is that, while it sure looks like the Trump campaign had obvious unethical and possibly criminal dealings with Russia that were key in helping him get elected, efforts that I would consider a "conspiracy" in the common use of the word, I cannot make any firmer statements as to whether it rose to the level of a conspiracy according to the legal statutes until I see the report.