With Trump's Russia ties, the 2016 election goes all Jason Bourne

Only in hindsight will we be able to fully appreciate the utter strangeness of the 2016 election. Each day brings unprecedented and alarming developments. Take this new press release from the Clinton campaign, which is like something out of a Jason Bourne film, but is frighteningly real: In response to a new report from Slate showing that the Trump […]

By The Editors - October 31, 2016

Take this new press release from the Clinton campaign, which is like something out of a Jason Bourne film, but is frighteningly real:

In response to a new report from Slate showing that the Trump Organization has a secret server registered to Trump Tower that has been covertly communicating with Russia, Hillary for America Senior Policy Adviser Jake Sullivan released the following statement Monday:

“This could be the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow. Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank.

“This secret hotline may be the key to unlocking the mystery of Trump’s ties to Russia. It certainly seems the Trump Organization felt it had something to hide, given that it apparently took steps to conceal the link when it was discovered by journalists.

“This line of communication may help explain Trump’s bizarre adoration of Vladimir Putin and endorsement of so many pro-Kremlin positions throughout this campaign. It raises even more troubling questions in light of Russia’s masterminding of hacking efforts that are clearly intended to hurt Hillary Clinton’s campaign. We can only assume that federal authorities will now explore this direct connection between Trump and Russia as part of their existing probe into Russia’s meddling in our elections.”

Adding another wrinkle, Mother Jones reports:

A former senior intelligence officer for a Western country who specialized in Russian counterintelligence tells Mother Jones that in recent months he provided the bureau with memos, based on his recent interactions with Russian sources, contending the Russian government has for years tried to co-opt and assist Trump—and that the FBI requested more information from him.

Hopefully FBI Director Comey will provide further information about these disturbing reports and Americans can get a brief respite from the vastly overhyped Clinton email story to learn about something that actually matters.

The Editors