A Quick Note

A quick note to anyone reading over the conspiring between Manafort and Kilimnik to promote a Ukrainian "peace plan" and saying that the whole scandal is a "criminalization of policy differences."

Nonsense.  It is not a crime to favor a pro-Russian settlement of the war or a lifting of the sanctions.  The crime is in secret Russian assistance in doing so.  This simple table should make the distinction clear:

	For a US government employee, elected official, or candidate	For a private citizen
Legal	To advocate for a pro-Russian peace plan in Ukraine and lifting of sanctions.  (Or any other foreign policy, however ill-advised)	To advocate for a pro-Russian peace plan in Ukraine and lifting of sanctions.  (Or any other foreign policy, however ill-advised)
Illegal	To do so in exchange for a personal or electoral benefit from a foreign power	To do so in exchange for a personal benefit from a foreign power without registering as an agent of that power and making a full disclosure of all payments and lobbying activities

That is all.