The Latin phrase quid pro quo literally means “what for what” or “something for something,” and it defines a favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something.
Ever since 2016, there have been numerous investigations trying to determine if there was indeed a quid pro quo between Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign and Russia, especially the highest levels of Russian intelligence and the Kremlin.
Proof has now been laid out by the Treasury Department that carefully explains how the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia did indeed work in concert with one another to steal the election for Trump, making him an illegitimate president.
CNN reports that the link between the Trump camp and Russia can be found in the person of a man named Konstantin Kilimnik, who has deep links to the intelligence services of Russia:
“The new revelations about Moscow’s election meddling came as part of the Biden administration’s slate of sanctions against Russian actors on Thursday over Russia’s election interference as well as the SolarWinds hack and Russia’s ongoing occupation of Crimea.
“After then-President Donald Trump repeatedly denied or downplayed Russia’s election interference in 2016, senior Trump administration officials, including Trump himself, refused to acknowledge or elevate Russian operations in 2020 and sought to characterize China as the greater threat.
“The sanctions also included the US government’s acknowledgment for the first time that a Russian-linked intelligence operative named Konstantin Kilimnik provided information on Trump campaign polling strategy and data to the Russian intelligence services in 2016.”
The passing of polling information to Russian intelligence was especially helpful to the Kremlin because it allowed so-called “troll farms” to target specific audiences on social media sites in an attempt to turn voters away from 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and toward Trump. That was a huge advantage for Trump because his campaign’s digital operation relied on misinformation and lies about Clinton to place doubt in the minds of American voters.
The Biden administration’s new sanctions are some of the most extensive and far-reaching ever placed on any foreign government, NBC News noted:
“Under the order, the Treasury Department has blacklisted six Russian technology companies that provide support to the cyber program run by Russia’s intelligence services.
“Treasury also sanctioned 32 entities and individuals for ‘carrying out Russian government-directed attempts to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and other acts of disinformation and interference,’ as well as eight individuals and entities associated with Russia’s actions in Crimea.”
For the first time since President Obama left office, the Oval Office is occupied by a man who understands that Russia and Vladimir Putin are a direct and ongoing threat to U.S. national security.
Additionally, Treasury’s report also clears the way for the Department of Justice to file criminal charges against former president Trump and members of his 2016 campaign. Here’s hoping Attorney General Merrick Garland will do exactly that.
