![]() ![]() The investigation of this, especially when you’re not at a big house, it feels like a hobby. ![]() It was one of those things where you put in the calls, you get told no on stuff, and you just hope Bob Mueller finds something, or The New York Times or The Washington Post, who have done amazing things on this stuff. I have a book coming out that touches on the beginnings of it, though. This was a thing that felt like it was going to go on for the rest of the time Donald Trump was in office. How close were you to publishing before Trump Jr. I actually think in the wake of this being released, we’re going to have more arguments about reality as opposed to evidence. I think that’s going to be a really tiring thing we go through the next few days. I think what it actually means is more evidence of something we already knew, which is: Realities are different now. You’re inflating this, this isn’t collusion.” There’s other people who are like, “Yeah it’s collusion, but who cares? Everybody does it,” or whatever. What concerns me is that I’m already seeing a lot of people who are saying, “You know, this is nothing. ![]() What does something like this mean, moving forward? ICYMI: 11 images that show how the Trump administration is failing at photography But to simply have the principal of the case release the documents without being subpoenaed or ordered by law, or under threat of perjury, or anything, to just have it released as if it wasn’t a big deal, it’s just one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever seen. And it was something to do because I felt like it was an important story. When another journalist gets one of these stories, you tip your cap and you’re just like, “This is fantastic.” To be honest, I never really thought I would break something this was more like a quixotic quest. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this you’re actually the first person I’ve talked to about this out loud. Does that feel different from being beaten by a competing news outlet? This entire time, I kept hoping I or somebody else would come across some sort of smoking gun, but I never expected the son of the president to just tweet it out on a Tuesday.Įssentially, you’ve been scooped by a source. So I basically followed those leads for the last year, finding a lot that didn’t bear any fruit. They just wanted to remain anonymous and give background information. Again and again, it was just people who wouldn’t go on the record. I just followed up on sources, kept finding people who wouldn’t go on the record, kept finding people who were more than happy to give background information or lead to other sources. I had heard rumors that this was some sort of organized thing between the Trump campaign and Russia. Of course, this was on the heels of the DNC hack and the emails being released. When it originally started, it was back in July 2016, right around the time of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. What first turned you on to it? And how did you approach the reporting process? So, you’ve spent a year working on this story. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Sexton spoke with CJR about his reporting on the Trump-Russia connection, today’s tweets, and what it all means moving forward. That’s the focus of his upcoming book, The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore, which will be published in September by Counterpoint Press. Sexton, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, the New Republic, and Salon, started investigating the Trump-Russia relationship at a time when others deemed it “paranoia” or a “conspiracy theory.” He was also one of the first journalists to report on the rage and raw anger present at Trump rallies on the campaign trail. This is the most baffling day in a long, long stretch of baffling days. I…worked on this story for a year…and…he just…he tweeted it out.
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