Trumpgate Is Watergate The Remix

During the 2016 presidential campaign it was discovered that Russia had been attempting to infiltrate that political process by hacking Democratic email servers and data bases. That suspicion was brought into the campaign at one of the debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. When Clinton pointed to intelligence agency reports that indicated that Russia was most likely behind the cyber attacks candidate Trump became visibly agitated to the point of suggesting that the tampering could have been perpetrated by anyone including "a 400 pound person sitting on their bed." This assertion made it clear that Mr. Trump was going to steer clear of any accusation that pointed to Russia as the culprit in any cyber crime committed during the election and afterward which was a troubling and puzzling discovery.

It wasn't long after he assumed the office of president that the president began to come under suspicion and scrutiny in relation to the Russian hacking incident. When it was discovered that Russia actually did hack and dramatically interfere with the 2016 presidential election which also involved releasing other propaganda to influence voting via media leaks aimed at damaging Clinton's image much of the evidence pointed to members of Trump's transition team and administrative staff. Trump and others in his cabinet vehemently denied any involvement but as the investigation continued it became obvious that there was a connection, no matter how minimal, to the Russian efforts to sway the election in favor of the current president.

At the center of the Senate committee investigating Russia's hacking during the 2016 presidential campaign is former FBI director James Comey. During the campaign it was Comey who was leading the FBI's investigation into the Russian hacking probe and he who was eventually fired by the president it appears for not cooperating with his suggestion to drop the investigation. In his testimony before the Senate committee investigating the Russian hacking scandal Comey said that in a one-on-one meeting with the president that he (Comey) was asked if he could "drop" the investigation. Comey said the meeting made him uncomfortable and thought it out of the normal protocol for the president of the United States to be trying to influence a federal investigation. he made notes of the incident and other incidents in which it was suggested to him to stop investigating Russia. These and other unusual events draw suspicion from the public and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Another key figure in the Russian hacking probe is current U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. he too is alleged to have had several private meetings with Russian officials in government before, during and after the election of Donald Trump. It has been documented that the Attorney General met with high-ranking Russian officials just after the election of Donald Trump but for what specific purpose it is unclear. In his testimony before the Senate Committee investing Russian hacking Sessions was very elusive and uncooperative when being questioned by California junior Senator Kamala Harris. At times he was combative and frequently states that he could not recall specific details of meetings, people he met with or the reason for the meetings. It was clear that he was stonewalling the committee.

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is another key figure in the Russian hacking probe. He was rumored to have had meetings with Russian officials and to have actually acted as a representative for Russian interests involving corporate business dealings. While serving as a transition team member Flynn reportedly engaged in business dealings more or less as a broker of sorts for Russian businesses. His ties to Russia are many and being that he held a high-ranking military position his questionable dealings are particularly alarming.

The president's son Donald Jr. has emerged as a prominent figure in the investigation of Russia hacking American voting data and Democratic e-mail servers during the 2016 presidential campaign. His numerous visits and meetings with high-ranking officials and medium to low-level Russian operatives have raised eyebrows among those investigating the Trump administration for their involvement in the hacking scheme. Trump Jr., it was discovered, held meetings with Russian contacts for the express purpose of obtaining disparaging information on then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in hopes of swaying the election in favor of his father. These discoveries along with mounting evidence that the current administration colluded with Russian officials to influence a national election are damning at least and criminal at worst.

Truth be told it all looks like a bad spy movie from the Cold War era. You have people working both sides of the fence, secret rendezvous, back room meetings and Russia all mixed together in a spine-tingling drama of espionage and intrigue. The only difference is this drama is very real and these are not actors playing a part these are real people occupying real positions of power. The sad part in all of this is that it involves the national election of the nation's top political figure being interfered with by our historically most-hated nemesis. And that interference appears to have been aided by people in our own government. The ramifications of this are astronomical and the impact far-reaching. No matter what the outcome, this event will leave a permanent blemish on our electoral process and cast doubt upon it in the immediate and foreseeable future.