title:  Russian Lawyer Drops Bomb On Donald Trump Jr.; Alleges Direct Pay-To-Play Attempt
text: For the first time in my adult life, I m happy with the fact that Christmas started in October. Last Monday, Special Investigator Robert Mueller indicted two people closely connected to the Donald Trump campaign and he revealed that a third had taken a deal. Now there s an allegation that hits directly at Trump and his family and it s a big one.Still, for Trump, there is plausible deniability. Paul Manafort was  only  Trump s campaign chairman for a few months. Before last Monday, few outside of Washington had heard of Manafort s business partner Rick Gates. And well, George Popadopoulos was just a glorified  coffee boy  who happened to have very close connections to the Trump administration and to Russia.Not buying those defenses? Well, most Trumpsters do, but even the most hardcore Trump supporter would have a hard time denying this Trump-Russia connection. According to the lawyer that Donald Jr. met with, in the meeting that promised dirt on Hillary Clinton, Jr. offered up the play to her pay, or perhaps the other way around. He allegedly told her that in exchange for the damning info that never materialized, the Trump administration would look at easing sanctions against Russia.For her part, (Kremlin linked lawyer Natalia) Veselnitskaya said the meeting had commenced with high hopes. She began by raising the issue of the Obama-era sanctions against the Russians, known as the Magnitsky Act. With the hint that Veselnitskaya would provide dirt on Clinton, Trump Jr. promised to revisit the sanctions. Looking ahead, if we come to power, we can return to this issue and think what to do about it,  Trump Jr. told Veselnitskaya.  I understand our side may have messed up, but it ll take a long time to get to the bottom of it. Source: NewsweekVeselnitskaya didn t actually have any information for Jr., at least not during that meeting, but the intent was pretty clear. And while it s true that intent, even if proven, is not quite the smoking gun Mueller is looking for, Trump Sr. s actions give special emphasis to this alleged promise. Trump reluctantly signed a bill increasing sanctions against Russia and he s refusing to enforce it.In the wake of the indictments and of impending indictments, the fact that Veselnitskaya is willing to testify should have Trump Jr. (and Sr.) shaking in his $1,000 boots.Featured image via Pool/Getty Images.