The Donald Trump, Russia connection has little basis in reality, according to FBI investigators.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that, according to federal authorities, there’s no clear link between Russia and Donald Trump, so does that make all these claims from Hillary Clinton and the Democrats pure bogus?
Federal investigators have spent the past several months looking for proof that the billionaire real-estate tycoon is somehow in cahoots with the Russians, but every lead ultimately went nowhere. They investigated Trump’s closest aides, searched for monetary links between the two and looked into the possibility that Putin and his ilk were behind the hacking of DNC emails.
It was all to no avail. However, the investigation remains ongoing.
The DNC emails were hacked, authorities now believe, in order to wreak havoc on this year’s presidential election rather than to expose the Democrats of questionable ethics and criminal activities.
Some may wonder where this alleged Donald Trump, Russia connection came from in the first place. Who brought this to the forefront of the presidential election and why? If there’s no truth to it, why push it?
It was the Democrats, specifically the Clinton campaign, who started pushing the Donald Trump, Russia connection narrative. It was pushed primarily in response to the leaks of DNC emails to the general public.
Trump has, in the past, complimented Putin’s “strong” leadership, which Hillary Clinton has called “unpatriotic,” as she’s made it clear she does not view Russia as a potential ally. Donald has also, according to the Times , claimed to agree with Putin on a few key diplomatic policies.
Putin has also said a few nice things about Trump, calling the Republican nominee “bright” and “talented,” and also agreeing with Donald that mending American and Russian relations would be a step in the right direction.
In the wake of FBI Director James Comey’s bombshell decision to reopen the Hillary Clinton email investigation, she, her allies and supporters have called on the Bureau to publicly release whatever damning information they’ve dug up on the alleged Donald Trump, Russia connection.
Nevada senator Harry Reid penned a letter to the FBI two days after it was announced the Clinton email case would be brought back to life. His frustration in it is palpable.
“It has become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisers, and the Russian government — a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States, which Trump praises at every opportunity. The public has a right to know this information.”
According to recent interviews, the FBI have launched an investigation centering around potential links between Trump and Russia, but they have not opened an investigation on Donald himself.
Unfortunately for the Democrats, every lead the feds have followed up on regarding the Donald Trump, Russia connection has turned to dust.
The Bureau have spent much of their time on who specifically is responsible for the DNC hacks. The more they learn about the hacks, the more certain investigators are that any hacking activity done by the Russians was not done to ensure that Trump wins the presidency, but rather was done in an attempt to upset the democratic structure of the U.S. and sabotage America’s elite worldwide status.
“The hacking, they said, reflected an intensification of spy-versus-spy operations that never entirely abated after the Cold War but that have become more aggressive in recent years as relations with Mr. Putin’s Russia have soured.”
The DNC hacks that have gotten a plethora of attention this election cycle were leaked by WikiLeaks, whose founder is Julian Assange, a computer prodigy who is currently holed up at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, England.
Enter right-wing activist and Trump fan Roger Stone, who has claimed to have had past open communication with Assange, to the equation. On October 8, Stone seemed to make a foretelling about soon-to-be-released Podesta emails when he said, “More vile s**t about the criminal Clintons will be learned before the elections than will be learned about Trump,” as reported by Politico .
Obviously, just because Stone said that doesn’t mean he actually knew anything about the content of the leaks. Still, Hillary’s camp is promoting the notion that Roger is an acting middleman between the Russians and Assange, and therefore the Russians and Trump.
NYTimes: “Law enforcement officials say that none of the investigations[] have found any link between Mr. Trump and the Russian government.”
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) November 1, 2016
Other people the FBI have taken a closer look at for their potential of being involved in the Russia, Donald Trump connection include Republicans David Page and Paul Manafort.
David Page was personally brought to the FBI’s attention by Harry Reid, who wrote a letter to James Comey in August. In the letter, he made a passing suggestion that Page was worth looking into for his links to both Trump and Russia. As far as anyone can tell, Reid made this link because of a speech Page gave earlier this year in which he lambasted the methods in which the United States use to deal with Russia.
Page responded to these accusations by contacting Comey directly, telling the FBI director that Reid and his colleagues are simply “grasping at straws.”
Paul Manafort used to work as chairman for the Trump campaign, and he also used to serve as advisor to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych. However, federal investigators decided that just because Manafort was involved in Yanukovych’s corrupt government, doesn’t mean he’s engaging in cyber attacks against the U.S. with Vladimir Putin.
The Donald Trump, Russia connection has, so far, not much basis in reality. The FBI has looked into possible links and has found none. Will Hillary Clinton be lucky enough for something to pop up before November 8? If so, will it matter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
[Featured Image by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images]
