| epicurean said: I definetly never claimed that Trumps campaign ran anything well. From everything I've read it was a complete disaster. I have no idea how he won. After reading up more - it appears that it is not a crime to meet with a Russian lawyer, OR a Russian Government Lawyer, or even a member of a foreign gov't when running for office. The closest thing that could be found that is a crime here someone posted earlier - that you receive something of value in return. From what I've read, that has never been inferred as being anything other that money (or a valuable object). It's never been construed to mean information. I know this is from FoxNews, which is obviously biased, but it seems to say theres really nothing here, even at its worst, that could be considered a crime. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/07/11/gregg-jarrett-donald-trump-jr-has-broken-no-law.html |
The relevant crime is "illegal campaign contribution by a foreign principal", which prohibits foreign nationals from providing "anything of value" (not just money).
It would likely be prosecuted under the first part of 18 USC 371, Conspiracy to commit offense or defraud the United States. This is considered the general conspiracy statute, as it covers conspiracy to commit any federal crime.
However, I'm not sure if such a thing (conspiracy to illegally receive campaign contributions) has ever been prosecuted before, so honestly I think its unlikely to go that route.
Also, here is an article from Vox with the opinions of 17 legal experts: https://www.vox.com/2017/7/11/15952232/donald-trump-jr-lawyer-russia-manafort-kushner-clinton-2016-election
