An effort by to smear the top Democrat on the Senate Russia investigation, Sen. Mark Warner is underway, and it involves, Fox News, Russia, and Donald Trump Jr.

Come with me for a moment down the Fox News Steele Dossier conspiracy rabbit hole:

The Fox News report breathlessly tries to paint a picture of Warner secretly trying to get in touch with Steele through a Russian oligarch, but admits later that:

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A Warner aide acknowledged that Warner and Burr revealed the texts to their colleagues on the panel because “they realized out of context it doesn’t look great.” But aides to Warner and Burr both stressed that the chairman was kept apprised of Warner’s efforts.

An aide to Burr knew there was a “back channel” Warner was using to try and get to Steele and was not concerned that Warner was freelancing on the matter.

Of course, Putin’s favorite or maybe second favorite Trump family patsy, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted:

Yes, Sen. Warner did, because he was trying to get an agreement for Steele to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee and GASP, the Republican chairman of the committee knew about it.

The collusion between conservative media, Russia, and the Trump family hasn’t stopped

Trump and the Russians with cover from conservative media like Fox News coordinated to illegally win a presidential election. The collusion has now moved on to trying to discredit the investigation of what happened during the election.

As Jonathan Chait pointed out, Trump Jr.’s tweet is part of the ongoing collusion with Russia:

Fox News, Russia, and the Trump family are doing all that they can to smear a respected Senator because he is getting too close to the truth about potential Trump crimes with Russia. The collusion didn’t stop after the election. It continues today, as Putin is trying to make the evidence of Russian election interference disappear with the help of the Trump family and Fox News.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association