In yet another horrifying twist to the dystopian nightmare that is our lives, a report has been released by Buzzfeed that claims to prove Russia has not only been assisting and communicating with Trump, but may also have been harboring sensitive information with the intention of blackmailing him. The reports are unverified by American intelligence so far, but according to The Guardian, they come from a reliable source.
If you saw #PEEOTUS or #GoldenShowers trending on Twitter last night, you’ve heard the disgusting “kompromat” or compromising information Russia apparently had on Trump: that he rented a room in The Ritz in Moscow where he knew Barack and Michelle Obama had slept, and hired prostitutes to perform a ‘golden showers’ (pee) show for him. This is an outrageous story, something you’d expect in an episode of Black Mirror, not being reported on CNN, and Twitter has had a field day (don’t search #GoldenShowersGate or urine for a world of pee puns).
However, this should not be seen as an opportunity to kinkshame or denigrate sex workers. Consensual sex acts, however icky you find them —or the person carrying them out— are not the problem here. The real issue is why Trump did this— as an act of vile racist hatred against the current President and First Lady, whom he has been attacking for years.
And as with all Trumped-up news stories, we’re getting too distracted by the gossip (He dissed Meryl! He dissed Hamilton! Prostitutes! Pee!) to see the major issues behind the headlines. Here are 3 things you might have missed.
1. Trump may have colluded with Russia to influence the election
The memos allege that representatives for Trump and Putin met several times in 2016 to discuss matters including the hacking of the Democratic National Convention, as well as Hillary’s campaign chairman John D. Podesta. According to the report, the leaking of these emails happened “with the full knowledge and support of TRUMP and senior members of his campaign team.”
“One report, dated June 2016, claims that the Kremlin has been cultivating, supporting and assisting Trump for at least five years, with the aim of encouraging “splits and divisions in western alliance”, according to CNN, and that “he and his inner circle have accepted a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin, including on his Democratic and other political rivals.”
2. That’s basically treason
If Trump’s team colluded with foreign powers to influence the result of the US election, that pretty much adds up to treason. Not that any of the horrible things he’s done so far have actually affected Trump’s standing as President-Elect, but if these allegations turn out to be true–would it be cause to hope that this might be enough to impeach him?
The definition of treason essentially lines up with the contents of the report: “the crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.”. However, the laws surrounding treason in the US are more of a gray area. According to Bustle, it’s “fair to speculate that this could lead to trial on treason charges”, based on similarities between this and the most recent charge of treason against a US citizen. One can dream, right?
3. The FBI knew about this MONTHS ago, and they didn’t care
Despite the fact that this info was circulating months ago, we’re only hearing about it now. Why? Hillary’s emails, of course.
According to CNN, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid urged FBI Director Comey to release critical information to the public in October, and sent him a letter stating, “It has become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisors, and the Russian government — a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States.”
This was October, when Comey decided instead to cast a shadow on the final few weeks of Hillary’s campaign with his ‘bombshell’ statement about her emails that ultimately amounted to nothing, but caused a media frenzy of suspicion that tragically couldn’t be undone in time for polling day.
Daily Kos reports “At the moment James Comey was being told that there were some emails on a laptop that might possibly relate to Hillary Clinton’s email server, he was privy to information that Donald Trump was being blackmailed by Russian intelligence and that his campaign was in regular contact with Moscow. Comey decided that one of these stories was important enough to break to the public.”
The fact is that it’s being released now, four days after the electoral college vote has been ratified, when there’s no going back, is also telling, and ominous as hell.
Top Photo: Twitter
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