By: Lisa M. Hayes
There is a lot of media run up right now about tariff taxes right now. That’s happening for some very specific reasons. The world has seen these types of tariff threats and the implementation of tariffs of this nature before. They foreshadowed one of the darkest periods in modern history with a world economic collapse the likes of which we don’t want to see again. Economic isolationism doesn’t work. We have history to prove it.
However, while the media is hyper-focused on a potential economic policy born from a tweet in the middle of the night, we might be missing a key story that isn’t getting the light it deserves. In an article about Christopher Steele, the author of the infamous “dossier,” the New Yorker reports that Russia may have claimed they directly influenced Trump’s decision for Secretary of State.
This claim, sourced by an “unnamed top Russian official” states Russia used back channels to tell Trump they didn’t want Romney selected for the position of Secretary of State. Maybe it was Romney’s position on sanctions related to Ukraine. Maybe Mitt Romney would have been more challenging to extort or control because they didn’t have dirt on him.
Rex Tillerson apparently made the cut for Russia. We might want to ask why.
If the Kremlin directly influenced the selection of our top foreign policy official and that can be proven, we are once again facing a reality where our country at it’s highest levels is taking orders from a hostile foreign power.
This story is important for a number of reasons. However, at it’s most basic, most granular, this story delivers an answer to the conservative apologists who like to ask, “Why not have a good relationship with Russia?”
The meddling in our elections and the purchasing of an administration goes way beyond “a good relationship.” It is, in fact, the opposite of a “good relationship.”. It is a coup happening in plain sight.
Sure, an “unnamed top Russian official” as a sole source for an investigative reporting piece isn’t exactly solid. However, the intel was solid enough to make the report Christopher Steele produced. Steele is a respected professional in the intelligence community. Just because the public doesn’t know the name of the top Russian official, doesn’t mean Robert Mueller hasn’t had it all along.
Stay tuned.
