Quote:
Originally Posted by well named
IANAL so I don't know exactly how the courts or prosecutors are likely to interpret the breadth of the law, but I think if someone invited you to a meeting with a foreign national with connections to the government of a different country, offering information to help your campaign offered on behalf of said foreign government, and you went to the meeting hoping to get that information, then you would absolutely be in violation of this law.
Whether or not it extends as far as "talking to my foreign friend about campaign strategy" I couldn't say.
This is not my area of expertise, but my point is that this law appears to be super broad and not enforced, or selectively enforced. It appears that you are saying the necessary distinction (that is not in the law) is that the foreign national has connections to a foreign government and the info is offered on behalf of that government.
Not sure if that distinction is meaningful, but to make my next point, it appears that the enforcement of the law has to be based on past experience. In other words, it becomes very relevant when and for what this has been enforced and not enforced in the past.
Thus, we must look at past campaigns and enforcement or lack of enforcement to see if this activity by Trump Jr is illegal (strictly illegal by the letter of the law is not relevant - does past practice show it was enforced).