A recent article by Julian Borger on the Trump-Russia story set off a tizzy on Daily Kos. Another shoe had dropped! Unfortunately, the excitement was based on poor reading of the article and a lack of understanding of the Trump-Russia story, not to mention a tendency to drift into conspiracy theory.
The Steele dossier was published in January by Buzzfeed here. On the last two pages, dated December of 2016, it states that Trump’s representative Michael Cohen, accompanied by three others, went to Prague in August/September 2016 with the objective of talking to Kremlin operatives and Romanian hackers and paying the hackers to steal material to influence the election. This is, truly, a stunning allegation, one that—if proven—would likely lead to impeachment. However, to date, it remains an allegation.
But note—the hacks against the Democrats go back much further. In fact, the material that has come out dates to hacks against the DNC and Podesta that happened between September 2015 and March 2016. The implication is that the Trump team was paying for material that has not come out (and may indeed never have been obtained). Of course, the hackers/operatives may also have been paid on delivery of the hack, but if so, this point needs to separately proven. That’s not what the dossier says.
The December date of the Steele report, which according to Borger Steele seems to have reported to British intelligence in December, is odd. Why would the opposition research Steele was engaged in have continued after the election? Was this freelance work? Why did the only really damaging allegation in the report appear in December, when the facts occurred months earlier? These are important pieces of context that would help to support or discredit the December report.
In other words, Borger’s article only adds two new points: 1) Steele wrote a memorandum to British intelligence in December (which is important—it means he put his reputation on the line) , and 2) he testified on the matter in court (again, this means that Steele believes his information is accurate). This does not amount to a new shoe in the Trump-Russia investigation. For that matter, Steele is defending himself in court over claims that he defamed one of the people named in the dossier, Cohen has denied traveling to Prague, and there’s no independent proof that any of this happened.
Now, I find it frustrating that diarists rush to publish without really reading what they are publishing, especially when they fail to link the original. I find it frustrating that readers read without going back to the original source to check that the diarist is representing the material correctly. But I find it outrageous that the diarist—and all too many other Kossacks—should rely on Conspiracy Queen Louise Mensch.
Let me enumerate a few reasons:
- Louise Mensch circulates insane conspiracies like the idea the Russians funded the riots in Ferguson, as documented by subir. This is hardly the only example. Breitbart murdered by Putin! And much more!
- Mensch is funded by Rupert Murdoch. One possibility is that her role is to discredit any real investigation of the Trump-Russia connection. But wrap a little morsel of bullsh-t in a tasty canape, and a lot of people will swallow the bullsh-t with the mascarpone. Or maybe she just never stopped writing fiction.
- Mensch has been called “batsh-t crazy” and “a fruit loop of the highest order” by Malcolm Nance, a former intelligence officer who has been a driving force in exposing the Trump-Russia connection (and is a little batsh-t himself, but that’s another story). She is not taken seriously by any real analyst that I know.
I get it. We’re tired of Trump and we want his presidency to be over. There is enough evidence of collusion between Trump associates and Russian operatives to merit a blue ribbon non-partisan investigation, with full candor by the intelligence services—they doubtless have all the material necessary to document any conspiracy between Trump and Russia. We have been sold out and slow-walked by a political and intelligence establishment that is more fearful of upsetting the apple cart than of throwing out the rotten apples. We need truth, and we need it soon.
But we do not get there by circulating conspiracy theories or by rabbiting off with half-read articles getting everyone excited that something is about to happen.
We get there by patiently reading and digesting information, sharing it, and bringing it to the attention of our representatives. And if they don’t do anything, then we protest and try to bring this sleepwalk into authoritarianism to an end on our own.