IN ALL FAIRNESS, DONALD WAS PROMISING SANCTIONS RELIEF IN EXCHANGE:

Three years ago, American intelligence unanimously concluded that Russia's interference in the 2016 election had been designed, in part, to damage Hillary Clinton. But Trump has never accepted this finding, as it is woven into the narrative of his corrupt (if not provably criminal) relationship with Moscow. In 2018, a report by Devin Nunes's House Intelligence Committee ludicrously disputed the conclusion Russia even intervened on Trump's side at all.

 [...]

Trump is not clever enough to realize that "I'm the toughest president on Russia, just ask Putin" is an obviously self-refuting defense.

In any case, you don't need to rely on the conclusions of intelligence officials to see that Russia developed a strong anti-Clinton, pro-Trump preference in the 2016 election. You don't even need to consider any of the surrounding facts that make this preference obvious, like Trump's financial ties with Moscow, or the icy hostility that grew out of Clinton's tenure as secretary of State. A handful of very well-known data points include:

1. Both Russia's domestic and international-facing propaganda organs openly touted Trump and attacked Clinton throughout the campaign.

2. Russian hackers stole Democratic Party emails and attempted to steal Clinton's immediately after Trump asked them to do so on national television.

3. A Russian agent held a meeting with top Trump campaign officials in 2016 to provide dirt on Hillary Clinton that was advertised in an email to Donald Trump Jr. as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."

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