Glossary of Words You May Find In Any Story About This Administration And Russia

Adviser: “A person who provides advice and experience. In the case of the Trump campaign, everyone from Jeff Sessions to Jared Kushner served as some type of adviser. And, as of March 3, at least five Trump advisers reportedly had contact with Russian officials.”

Aiding and abetting: Aiding and abetting generally means to somehow assist in the commission of a crime, or to be an accomplice. It involves a plan to commit a crime or to commit acts, the probable consequences of which are criminal.

Article II, Section 4: the place in US Constitution that states that “The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Backchannel: a secondary or covert route for the passage of information.

Breach: infraction or violation of a law, obligation, tie, or standard

Campaign finance violations: “with respect to soliciting a thing of value from a foreign government, namely damaging information”

Coercion: the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.

Collude: Intransitive verb form

Collusion: Secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose acting in collusion with the enemy

Congressional Committee: a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress). Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the matters under their jurisdiction.

Congressional Review Act: he law empowers Congress to review, by means of an expedited legislative process, new federal regulations issued by government agencies and, by passage of a joint resolution, to overrule a regulation.

Conspiracy: In criminal law, the offense of conspiracy is generally an agreement by two or more people to commit a crime — whether or not they do.

Conspiracy to commit cyber crime – “with respect to hacking”

Crown Prosecutor of Russia: There’s no such title in the Russian government, but the closest match would be Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika, one of President Vladimir Putin’s most loyal and long-serving lieutenants.

Cyberattack: An attempt by hackers to infiltrate or destroy a computer network or system. Cyberattacks can be used to steal or alter information or render a system immobile.

Deep state: a body of people, typically influential members of government agencies or the military, believed to be involved in the secret manipulation or control of government policy.

Diplomatic Mission: A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation officially in the receiving state

Dossier: A collection of documents pertaining to a specific subject

Economic Nationalism: a term bandied about by top Trump advisers like chief strategist Stephen Bannon to describe the overarching philosophy that drives Trump administration’s policy initiative; the term suggests a laser-strong and singular focus on American jobs and bringing them back home by pulling out of multilateral trade agreements.

Emolument: a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office.

Envoy: An ambassador or representative on a diplomatic mission

Executive Orders: Executive orders are orders issued by United States Presidents and directed towards officers and agencies of the U.S. federal government. Executive orders have the full force of law, based on the authority derived from statute or the Constitution itself. The ability to make such orders is also based on express or implied Acts of Congress that delegate to the President some degree of discretionary power (delegated legislation).

False Statement: The federal crime of concealing a material fact, making an untrue statement, or using documents known to be falsified

Five Eye Partners: United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom

Guccifer 2.0: "Guccifer 2.0" is a person or persona stating they were the hacker(s) that hacked into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer network and then leaked its documents to the media, the website WikiLeaks, and a conference event.

Impeachment: Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body formally levels charges against a high official of government. Impeachment does not necessarily mean removal from office; it is only a formal statement of charges, akin to an indictment in criminal law, and is thus only the first step towards removal. Once an individual is impeached, he or she must then face the possibility of conviction via legislative vote, which then entails the removal of the individual from office.

Incriminate: make (someone) appear guilty of a crime or wrongdoing; strongly imply the guilt of (someone).

Intent: intention or purpose.

Intermediary: a person who acts as a link between people in order to try to bring about an agreement or reconciliation; a mediator.

Judicial Intervention: request for a judge to be assigned to a case

Kakistocracy: Something given or received for something else

KGB: the intelligence and internal-security agency of the former Soviet Union, organized in 1954 and responsible for enforcement of security regulations, protection of political leaders, the guarding of borders, and clandestine operations abroad.

Kompromat: Russian term for criminal files and potentially also compromising material

Kremlin: Means “fortress in a city” in Russian, and can also refer to the government of the Russian Federation.

Magnitsky Act: Formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, is a bipartisan bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Obama in November–December 2012, intending to punish Russian officials responsible for the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison in 2009.

Memogate: the label being applied to the Trump-Comey mashup, wherein the Washington Post and others report that the President tried to put the quash on then-FBI director Comey’s probe into the activities of Flynn, Trump’s disgraced and former national security chief.
Oligarch: 1) a ruler in an oligarchy 2) (especially in Russia) a very rich business leader with a great deal of political influence.
Obstruction of justice: Obstruction of justice, even on its most basic level, is the interference with the due administration of justice

Opposition Research: investigation into the dealings of political opponents, typically in order to discredit them publicly.

Pardons: In the United States, the pardon power for federal crimes is granted to the President of the United States under Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution which states that the President "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment

Post Truth: Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

Perjury: the offense of willfully telling an untruth in a court after having taken an oath or affirmation.

Person of Interest: “It's not an actual traditional term, and it's not part of any criminal code. It was just a way for the FBI to say that there's someone that we have an interest in who may turn out to be the next stage, which is a target”

Probe: A colloquial term for an investigation or careful examination of something

Recuse: This means to take one’s self off of a case, usually due to conflicts of interest or other issues relating to the case

Russia Sanctions Bill: The bill gives Congress the ability to block Trump from lifting the Russia sanctions and includes new penalties against Iran and North Korea.

Russian Foreign Ministry: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign policy and foreign relations of Russia.

Special Counsel: In the United States, a special counsel (or independent counsel) is a lawyer appointed to investigate, and potentially prosecute, a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest exists for the usual prosecuting authority

Substantial Assistance: The United States Sentencing Commission's sentencing guidelines contain a policy statement allowing the court to depart from the guidelines and impose a lesser sentence if the government files a motion stating that the defendant has provided substantial assistance to it in the investigation or prosecution of another person which has committed an offense. Such a motion of the part of the government may be part of a plea agreement with the defendant.

Target: “A target is where you definitely do not want to be because there the FBI is saying we want you, and we're looking for you, and we want to indict you.”

Thing of Value: In order to complete a crime of extortion, the taking must be of money or some thing of value, such as a check. A “thing of value” includes intangible objectives, and extends to the mailing of a threatening letter with the intent to extort testimony linking the defendant to pending charges against him.

Treason: The offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign's family

Quid pro quo: Something given or received for something else

Witness: A witness is simply someone that can share information. It's not someone that you suspect necessarily of criminality