It's Official, Russians Corrupted The Election

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

What I think was going on at Trump Tower.

1. Russians invite Trump campaign to meeting with promise of illegal aid against Hillary.
2. Trump's people accept. But no aid is offered, because the Russians fear a sting, and the meeting is a test.
3. Trump's people pass test. More covert cooperation ensues.

Consistent with above is this bit from current Atlantic article.

Former spies told me last year that the meeting looked like a textbook intelligence operation aimed at gauging the Trump campaign’s interest in colluding with Moscow to undermine Clinton in exchange for lifting sanctions—a priority for Russia that former National-Security Adviser Michael Flynn discussed with former Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in December 2016.

Main point of article is Putin's telling press conference reference to matters connected to the Trump Tower meeting.