I've had a lot to say about Trump, not much about the Trump-Russia sideshow that's been raging in Washington, which has seemed to me either a non-story or a distraction. Trump's admiration for Putin is easy to explain purely in terms of his psychological disturbance, without recourse to any of the tall tales circulating. Of course, the Russia issue may finally turn some Republicans against Trump, which would be salutary, but that's a separate matter.
In any case, philosophy PhD student Philippe Lemoine (Cornell) has undertaken a rather detailed examination of the allegations and the evidence for them; here's his summary with links:
In Trump, Russia and the media – The hacking of the Democratic party and private cybersecurity companies (part 1), Trump, Russia and the media – The administration makes its case and it’s the red scare all over again (part 2), Trump, Russia and the media – The Buzzfeed dossier and the bankruptcy of journalism (part 3) and Trump, Russia and the media – The deep state against Trump and the threat on democracy (part 4), I review the evidence on the various allegations that have been made about the relationship between Trump and Russia, as well as the way in which the media has covered that issue. I conclude that, depending on the allegation, the evidence ranges from weak to completely preposterous. In the process, I document a shocking amount of bias and incompetence on the part of journalists, who clearly aren’t doing their job. The whole thing is more than 16,000 words long and contain 137 hyperlinks, which is why I made it a four-part series of posts. As far as I know, this is by far the most thorough discussion of the allegations that have been made about Trump and Russia out there, which I think is very important because this story is being used to prevent Trump from pursuing a détente with Russia.
I've not read all of this, but what I have read is interesting and usefully documented. You can comment at Mr. Lemoine's blog on his analysis. Refreshingly, he writes elsewhere on his blog, "I don’t believe that I should be protected from criticism for what I say by the fact that I’m a graduate student."
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