What Is Collusion? Donald Trump Jr Email Fuels Controversy Over Russian Meeting

Donald Trump Jr. caused a media eruption on Sunday after confirming to New York Times his secret meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer, who apparently was expected to provide dirt on Hillary Clinton to prevent her from winning the presidency in 2016. Trump Jr. released the transcript of his email discussion with the Russian government on Twitter Tuesday, which proved that he was offered official documents with allegedly incriminating information on Clinton.

The email chain could display potential evidence of the Russian government's willingness to aid the Trump Administration, prompting many media outlets to label this episode as an example of "collusion." What is collusion?

Read: Donald Trump Jr. Russia Meeting Violated Campaign Finance Laws, Government Watchdog Alleges

Collusion is best defined as a "secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose," according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. In other words, it refers to one's willingness to work alongside the enemy. Trump Jr.'s email chain follows with Merriam-Webster's definition of collusion, which Joe Kennedy III — the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy — pointed out on Twitter Tuesday.

Rob Goldstone, Trump Jr.'s associate, claimed that the Russian government made the decision to release incriminating information about Clinton that would be "very useful" to Trump Jr.'s father.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but it's part of Russia and its government's support for Trump," Goldstone wrote in the email, according to Trump Jr.'s tweet. "I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so I wanted to send to you first."

While it is a political term, collusion isn't considered to be a prison-worthy offense. However, the Washington Post noted that "you can go to jail for conspiring with a foreign adversary to influence or undermine an election." Could Trump Jr. face legal repercussions for his actions? The short answer is yes.

Although Trump Jr. likely intended to help his father by any means possible, colluding with foreign governments in this capacity goes against normal campaign practices. Politico reported Monday that Trump Jr.'s "statements put him potentially in legal cross hairs for violating federal criminal statutes prohibiting solicitation or acceptance of anything of value from a foreign national." Since he made it clear that he was open to receiving the allegedly incriminating information, he could be subject to further investigation by the government — especially because it isn't in support of the democratic system the government has put in place.

Read: Why Did Donald Trump Jr. Meet With A Russian Lawyer?

While Trump Jr. has continued to deny any trace of collusion with Russia, the tweets he shared outlining his email conversation showing interest in receiving alleged information on Clinton from Russia could serve as an unintentional confession to a crime. MSNBC justice and security analyst Matthew Miller spoke about Trump Jr.'s actions on "Morning Joe" Monday, claiming he was "accepting information," which is considered to be a "crime."

"You know, it is a crime to solicit or accept anything of value from a foreign national in a campaign," Miller told the Morning Joe co-hosts. "The 'thing of value' has never come up in this context before because we've never had a campaign like this, that potentially colluded with a foreign government, but in other contexts, in bribery cases and extortion cases, a thing of value doesn't have to be money."

He added: "It could be, potentially, accepting information."

Trump has repeatedly denied acts of collusion with the Russian government, beginning with his early days of seeking entry into the Oval Office. The president claimed on Twitter in May that "the story that there was collusion between the Russians & Trump campaign was fabricated by Dems as an excuse for losing the election."

He denied collusion often on Twitter in the following month, claiming "after 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my "collusion with the Russians," nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!"

Twitter users in opposition of Trump have had no problem pointing out his and his son's conflicting statements Tuesday, paving the way for Trump Jr. to become a trending topic on the social media website.

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