Russians all over the place!
by digby
We worked on two presidential campaigns at high levels and there weren’t any Russians around. I don’t think there were Russians around the Obama campaign or the Kerry campaign either. This campaign had Russians all over the place! – Former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt 8/4/2017
They have denied it over and over again:
Trump denied any campaign contact with Russia, “with a firm ‘no.’”
Jim Acosta: “Fortunately ABC’s Cecilia Vega asked my question about whether any Trump associates contacted Russians. Trump said no.”
Trump said “nobody that I know of” on the campaign had contacts with Russians.
Question: “Can you say whether you are aware that anyone who advised your campaign had contacts with Russia during the course of the election?”
Trump: “No. Nobody that I know of. Nobody…”
Kellyanne Conway on whether any members of the Trump campaign had contact with Russians: “Absolutely not.”Question: “Did anyone involved in the Trump campaign have any contact with Russians trying to meddle with the election?”
Conway: “Absolutely not.”
Sarah Sanders said “no contacts took place” between the Trump campaign and Russians.
Sanders: “‘This is a nonstory because to the best of our knowledge, no contacts took place, so it’s hard to make a comment on something that never happened,’ Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, said on Monday.”
Hope Hicks: “There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign.”
Hicks: “It never happened. There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign.”
Reince Priebus said there were no contacts between Trump associates and Russia in 2016.
Question: “One, do you flatly deny any contact, any coordination between Mr. Trump, his campaign, his associates and the Russians in interfering?”
Priebus: “Even this question is insane. Of course, we didn’t interface with the Russians.”
Russians interacted with at least 16 Trump associates during the campaign and presidential transition.
Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia. Haven’t made a phone call to Russia in years. Don’t speak to people from Russia. I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with does.”
— President Trump, in a news conference, on Feb. 16, 2017