On Sunday, it was revealed that Donald Trump Jr. had been in contact with WikiLeaks prior to the 2016 election. WikiLeaks direct messaged Trump Jr. on Twitter on multiple occasions, from September 2016 until July 2017.
This information and interaction between the two is incredibly important. WikiLeaks, at the time when they first contacted Trump Jr., was known to be publishing pro-Russia information. They provided Trump Jr. with information on an anti-Trump PAC, which would be launching soon. Trump Jr. replied that he would look into who was behind it and thanked the group for their information.
Throughout the next 10 months, WikiLeaks contacted Trump Jr. multiple times and offered information and advice to him. Trump Jr. wouldn’t reply to WikiLeaks’ every message, but would often tweet the information they provided him just moments after he received the message. Also, soon after their initial contact with Trump Jr., candidate Donald Trump began complimenting WikiLeaks in his speeches.
Why does any of this matter? It matters because it shows how an outside force, in this case WikiLeaks, attempted and succeeded in swaying our election. Not only that, but the FBI believes that WikiLeaks was chosen by Russia to influence the election as much as possible. What makes the situation worse is that Trump Jr., who certainly discussed the information with his father, agreed and cooperated with them.
For Trump Jr. to maintain a relationship with a biased, dangerous group was a betrayal of Americans everywhere, no matter who you supported. Further, WikiLeaks suggested that Trump should nominate WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to a government position. There’s no evidence as to how it affected Trump or Trump Jr., but with Trump Jr. cooperating with the group, it proves that WikiLeaks had some influence on him. To suggest that Trump Jr. should convince his father into giving Assange a top-position only reinforces the idea of corruption and decay of the democracy and its ideals.
Americans must hold these individuals and groups responsible for their reprehensible actions. If not, who knows who will really hold the power in the future.
Hunter Graffice is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. How do you feel about WikiLeaks? Let Hunter know by dropping a tweet @HunterGraffice4.
