The morning cable news shows (I was flipping between CNN and MSNBC so don’t remember which one) had two reporters talking about the issue that the intelligence definitely shows Russian interference. Trump’s denial was being debated as a way to stonewall or delegitimize any information that might come out, or that Trump may fear will come out that “delegitimizes” his victory.
The reporters were saying that at this point there is no evidence to suggest that Trump himself or anyone on his team had any direct involvement or knowledge, but that the entire issue of “What did he know and when did he know it” had not really been addressed, and that further investigation may be needed. This was the first time I had heard anyone directly ask that question in those terms: What did he know and when did he know it?
We need to keep asking that question, in exactly those words, because those words have a history and immediately frame the issue as requiring further investigation of Trump and his team: What did he know and when did he know it?
The day before the intelligence community revealed that the way the Russians are able to provide the information to Wikileaks while still retaining “plausible deniability” as to their directly providing the information is that they used “actors” . . people who may or may not be Russian but who were involved in actually taking the emails and other information and providing them to Wikileaks . . .as one anchor referred to them . .they were COURIERS.
Is it coincidence that the day or two BEFORE the use of individuals who acted as “couriers” between Russia and Wikileaks was revealed, Trump went on his seemingly odd rant about the use of computers not being secure and that the way to transmit information that you want to have remain secret is the use of COURIERS. At the time he was laughed at as being oddly out of synch with our digital age. And of course the fact that Osama Bin Laden’s hiding place was “discovered” when a courier was intercepted was brought up as a repudiation of Trump’s comments on the security of using couriers. But the odd use of the word “couriers” was not discussed or noted other than as showing him to be out of touch with the computer age. Not so fast . . . .
Now that we know that couriers were the method used by the Russians to deliver information to Wikilieaks, I can’t help but ask did Trump KNOW about the Russian interference before it happened (remember he called on Russia to hack HC throughout the election). And if he knew about Russian interference being considered or actually carried out, he might also have known that the method being used for security was to use COURIERS.
So the reference to his preference for couriers over computer communication may not have been random or signifying a lack of modern technology capability by one who doesn’t email or use a computer. Trump’s mention of couriers as a “secure method of communication that can’t be hacked” may be his unconscious signal that YES indeed he knew something . . .maybe not directly to give him cover and “deniability” . . but couriers??? Where did that come from if not from some knowledge that the Russians hoped to hide their involvement by using that means of communication. I don’t see Trump mentioning “couriers” any other time, until JUST before that aspect of the Russian hacking became public.
So we need to keep the media asking: What Did He Know and When Did He Know It? COURIERS may be his unconscious revealing that indeed he had knowledge of the hacking, and the method by which Russian involvement was to be concealed.