Most of the comment I have heard so far focuses on the Trump campaign collusion with Russia however, it appears the appointment is for a special counsel to oversee probe of Russian interference in the election. President Trump has been in a political office for a total of less than five months in his entire life and prior to the actual election date in November, no one gave him any chance of winning. While there was no reason for the Russian government to waste any time on Mr. Trump, there was every reason for them to attempt to influence Mrs. Clinton. There is also a substantial record of their involvement with her, her family, and associates for many years.
If the election is the mandate, then Russian involvement with both candidates would be at issue. The media will not direct the investigation, facts will. A big part of potential Russian interference was release of DNC and Podesta emails along with potential penetration of Mrs. Clinton's email server. To look at those areas of potential interference, content will have to be looked at as well as cooperation with past investigations and compliance with security requirements. Neither the media or democratic politicians will have control of the agenda. Remember, the Obama administration was in control all during the election and for two months thereafter. With an honest investigation, there is a lot for democrats to worry about. Unless we are going to make it a crime for a novice to win an upset victory, I don't see anything for the President to be concerned about from a legal standpoint.
Legally on solid footing but from a public relations standpoint, who knows when a 3:00 am twitter storm will upset the apple cart.
I agree that it goes beyond Trump and would mostly damage Clinton. I disagree that they didn't try to influence the election his way. We know there are a ton of phony news sites coming out of Russia, many of which just wanting to make a dime, but also apparently influencing. Trump was also making Russia favorable policy statements that was out of line for the past few administrations, specifically around the issue of Ukraine.
It would actually be normal for Russia, or any other major nation, to influence our election in their favor. I suspect Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, and many others had their hands in, either directly or indirectly, every single major candidate.
Trump wasn't distancing himself from Russia until near the end when it was used as an issue. Up until this campaign, he and his sons were even bragging about how much money they had coming in from Russia. One of Trump's primary business partners was Bayrock Group which was founded by Tevfik Arif who used to be the USSR's Minister of Commerce and Trade.
Long story short, the denials of having 'zero interests or connections with Russia' is BS. It is too extreme of a denial considering the facts of his history. Or, as the old saying goes:
Me thinks he doth protest too much. And these connections would be no big deal if he didn't make such a big deal about denying them. They would be normal connections but his loud denials raise a lot of suspicion he is hiding something bigger- that or he is just a dumbass.
