Crimea River, Donald

Crimea River, Donald

by digby

















One of the most curious Russian connections was the bizarre interference in the GOP platform by the Trump campaign.

Today, one of the people who was identified as appearing at the meeting and insisting that it be changed was also said to have met with the Russian ambassador at the convention. His name is JD Gordon and he spoke with CNN:





You'll notice that he said Trump himself wanted the language in the platform.

Well:
While the original version of the Republican Party platform is not public and unavailable, news outlets reported that it contained language that included arming Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The version that passed, however, softened the language, saying America will provide "appropriate assistance" to Ukraine and "greater coordination with NATO defense planning."

When Meet the Press host Chuck Todd asked Trump campaign adviser Paul Manafort about how much influence Trump in changing the platform, Manafort denied any involvement. (Read about Manafort’s connections to pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians here).

Todd then asked where the idea came from, and added, "Everybody on the platform committee had said it came from the Trump campaign. If not you, who?"

Finally, Todd pressed the matter, asking if anyone on the Trump campaign wanted that change, to which Manafort answered: "No one, zero."


George Stephanopoulos: "Then why did you soften the GOP platform on Ukraine?" 
Trump: "I wasn't involved in that. Honestly, I was not involved."
Stephanopoulos: "Your people were." 
Trump: "Yeah. I was not involved in that. I'd like to -- I'd have to take a look at it. But I was not involved in that." 
Stephanopoulos: "Do you know what they did?" 
Trump: "They softened it, I heard, but I was not involved." 
As you can see, Trump says, "Yeah," in response to a query that his campaign was involved. But it’s not clear if that’s the answer to a question, or just Trump filling space. 
After these questions, Trump hints at why the platform may have changed . 
"The people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were," Trump said.

So, what's up Don?

We don't know what it was all about but it's not a stretch to at least wonder if it might have been a signal of reassurance to someone with a stake in the matter. It'as awfully strange that this was the only time the Trump campaign interfered so specifically with the platform.

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