Donald Trump and Russia: why the fall of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen brings us no closer to the truth

Francis Moriarty says while the US probe into Russia’s interference into the 2016 presidential election has now brought down two of the president’s men, it’s still a long way from proving ‘collusion’ directly involving Trump

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Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer to US President Donald Trump, leaves the federal court in New York on August 21. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 4:00am, 30 Aug 2018Updated: 9:04am, 30 Aug 2018

The moving train wrecks involving the trials of US President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chief Paul Manafort, and his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, remind us to think carefully about our choice of words.

I’m pondering “collusion”. Is it the right word for whatever has been going on?

Eerie echoes of the Richard Nixon-Watergate era resound in this saga. As in Watergate, these are two of the president’s men. Nixon proclaimed, “I’m not a crook.” Trump proclaims, “No collusion.” People again speak of impeachment.

For all its usage, collusion has not yet appeared in any charge. There was no mention of Russia’s alleged “collusion” during the Manafort trial, as the charges predated Trump’s campaign.

Any prosecutorial lapse regarding “collusion” could yet be filled. Lurking behind the Manafort and Cohen prosecutions is the reported effort by Russia (and, possibly, helpful third parties) to interfere in the 2016 presidential campaign between Trump and Hillary Clinton, and to hack the election process itself.

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