An important question remains unanswered about Trump and Russia

By Kent R. Kroeger (May 21, 2020)

Second half of the hearings with Robert Mueller are about to begin (July 24, 2019) (Photo by United States House of Representatives — Office of Rick Crawford).

Disclaimer: Though I address significant legal issues in this article, I am not a lawyer, only a concerned citizen and writer that places an extremely high value on our First Amendment rights — which I believe are under siege.

Is it illegal for a U.S. presidential campaign to obtain from a foreign source, by purchase or gift, derogatory information about an opponent?

If you believe U.S. campaign finance law makes it clear that such behavior is illegal, you didn’t read Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III’s Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election.

But, before addressing this question, why am I even asking it? Aren’t we done with the Trump-Russia conspiracy theory? I’m as sick of the story as anybody. Let us move on.

Unfortunately, paraphrasing Michael Corleone in The Godfather: Part III, the Trump-Russia story keeps pulling us back in.

What draws us back in this time? For a brief moment last week, Obamagate replaced the coronavirus pandemic in the headlines.

If you somehow missed the Obamagate story — and if you get your news from CNN or MSNBC, I’m not surprised (see the Appendix for a graph of cable…