What Happened AFTER Junior's Infamous Meeting?

We have focused on how the meeting bears all the hallmarks of a Russian intelligence operation and, in particular, a test to gauge whether the Trump campaign would be open to assistance from the Russian government.

In that event, Moscow got a green light. The only problem with the Russian attempt, according to Trump Jr. and the Russian lawyer, was that the quality of the information on Clinton was poor. Trump Jr. and his team apparently wanted more.

So why would the Kremlin provide nothing of value to the Trump principals and disappoint them, especially when we know that by May, according to the US intelligence report, Putin had in his possession what he needed from the DNC server?

[...]

The information that was reportedly passed at this meeting has the feel of representing intelligence "feed material" to establish interest in more, higher quality information in the future.

Coincidentally, perhaps, it was only after the meeting that the DNC emails began to leak as part of a large scale influence operation to affect the presidential election.

[...]

Presumably, it would also be in the Russian interest to seek a direct signal from Trump himself that he was on board with the operation.

The Trump team's actions in the days following that fateful meeting are incriminating, and bear a stunning consistency with what is reported in the Christopher Steele dossier.

  CNN

Lordy, I hope there's a pee tape.

Rather than notify authorities about the Russian overture, they kept it mum and denied any Russian contacts when asked. In early July, according to Politico, Carter Page was dispatched to Moscow. The Trump team would have had to know, at the very least, that Page would be approached by Russian intelligence agents. The campaign and Page long refused to say whether he was authorized to travel to Moscow, until the news media discovered that the campaign did indeed authorize the trip.

During the summer months, American intelligence, reported by the New York Times, began picking up conversations in which Russian officials were discussing contacts with Trump associates, and European allies were starting to pass along information" that described "meetings in European cities between Russian officials --and others close to Russia's president, Vladimir V. Putin -- and associates of President-elect Trump."

[...]

In late July, within a few days of officially securing the GOP nomination at the Republican convention, candidate Trump openly invited Russian assistance and election interference.

And in December, Jared Kushner, in an undisclosed short meeting with the Russian ambassador, proposed establishing a channel of communications with Moscow inside a Russian embassy or consul.

[...]

[Michael] Flynn was the other member of the Trump transition team who actively participated in [that] meeting. He knew better, just as Paul Manafort did during the June 9 meeting. The list goes on.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.


UPDATE 8/1/17:  Leaked: Trump dictated the first Junior response.