BREAKING:Putin was involved in U.S. election

                           

Reports appeared indicates that Vladmir Putin personally directed the Russian assault on U.S. elections.

    Two senior officials with direct access to the information say new intelligence shows that Putin personally directed how hacked material from Democrats was leaked and otherwise used. The intelligence came from diplomatic sources and spies working for U.S. allies, the officials said.

Putin selected which material to leak and when, creating a narrative that caused a disruption within the Democratic Party—which the press eagerly followed and elaborated, on release by release. But Putin may have had help in that planning.

Donald Trump denied Russian involvement despite being briefed on the evidence multiple times. Now the White House indicates that Trump may have already known Russia was involved, and that his request for Putin to hack Hillary Clinton’s email was far from a joke.

    White House press secretary Josh Earnest contended Wednesday that it’s entirely feasible that Trump was well aware of Russia’s interference well before the intelligence community confirmed as much in October, a month before the election.

    “There’s ample evidence that was known long before the election and in most cases long before October about the Trump campaign and Russia — everything from the Republican nominee himself calling on Russia to hack his opponent,” Earnest told reporters. “It might be an indication that he was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he had available to him, that Russia was involved and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent’s campaign.”

What did Trump know—and when did he know it?

Trump directly, publicly asked for Russia’s intervention, promising that the press would play along.

    “That’s why he was encouraging them to keep doing it,” Earnest continued, referring to the then-GOP presidential candidate’s invitation during a late-July news conference for Russia to find Clinton’s missing emails. At the time, Trump added that Russia would “probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”

And sure enough, the press did their part.

    The New York Times this week reported that “every major publication … published multiple stories citing the D.N.C. and Podesta emails posted by WikiLeaks, becoming a de facto instrument of Russian intelligence.”

So did Donald Trump, who helpfully pointed out the parts of the emails that best fit the emerging narrative.

    None of that stopped Trump from reading aloud what he considered to be some of the most damaging revelations from WikiLeaks hacks of Podesta’s personal account at his massive campaign rallies and encouraging supporters to view the hacked emails themselves because, he said, the media weren't reporting on it, although they were.

Trump invited Russian participation, heartily engaged with the information they provided, and worked to increase coverage. Even so, Trump’s open invitation for Russia’s involvement was treated as a “joke”—as just another wild statement from a candidate prone to wild statements.

Trump has stated that if his team made claims about Russia involvement, it would be treated as a “conspiracy theory,” but Trump’s connection to Russia has been treated over and over again as nothing but a lark. A coincidence. Nothing to see here. Even when a connection has been drawn, the assumption has often been that it was a matter of underlings crossing paths. Carter Page gave a speech to Putin’s associates. No big deal. Michael Flynn dines with Putin himself. No big deal. Paul Manafort works for Putin for years, helping to stir turmoil in a democratically-elected government and install Russia’s puppet while tearing down relationships to NATO. Well … No. No big deal.

But there are other connections. Connections directly between Trump and Putin.

Compiled by Damien Summer