Must-Read: Matthew Yglesias: Beyond wild allegations, what’s clearly true about Trump and Russia is disturbing

Must-Read: Matthew Yglesias: Beyond wild allegations, what’s clearly true about Trump and Russia is disturbing: “The Russian blackmail theory is composed of two sub-elements…

…both of which are clearly true based on publicly available information. One is that Donald Trump has a curious and wrongheaded affection for the present government of Russia and its foreign policy. The other is that Donald Trump has engaged in scandalous conduct, the public revelation of which would cause a rational person to reduce their opinion of him…. Trump’s strange ideas about Russia date back to at least 1987, when Trump called for a US-Soviet alliance against France and Pakistan.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump publicly called into question America’s commitment to defending NATO allies from Russian attack.
Trump praised Russia’s intervention in the Syrian Civil War. Trump has also pointedly declined to criticize Putin on any front, whether it’s about killing journalists or invading Ukraine. Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, made a lot of money working for Putin’s proxy party in Ukraine…. Trump’s Russia policy is both a bit bizarre and also quite clear. Maybe the Russians are bribing him into it. Maybe he just has bad ideas. Maybe they are blackmailing him.

I have no idea. But if you’re wondering whether there is dirt on Trump out there, then the answer is clearly yes. Trump was recorded telling a casual acquaintance that he routinely sexually assaults women and escapes culpability because “when you’re a star they let you do it.” Trump paid $21 million in damages to students at his fake university who alleged he’d defrauded them. Trump’s foundation broke a wide range of rules about how it is legal to raise funds for charity and how it is legal to manage charitable funds…. Trump’s Atlantic City comeback was fueled by bilking shareholders…. There is at least one thing — and perhaps several things — lurking in Trump’s tax returns that would be highly damaging to his political standing…. A special congressional select committee investigation — or maybe some kind of independent prosecutor — seems clearly appropriate…