Trump Jr.'s 'Opposition Research' Excuse Makes No Sense

This may sound odd, coming from a Democrat, but in a way I'm thankful for Donald Trump Jr. You see, I'm also an opposition researcher, an often-forgotten role in political campaigns. People like me rarely seen and never heard. I've spent 24 years working in relative anonymity for well-known politicians like Chuck Schumer, Jennifer Granholm, and Tim Kaine. So it's been a pleasant surprise to see my vocation on the front page of every major newspaper and website after Junior told Fox News's Sean Hannity that his meeting with a lawyer he was told was linked to the Russian government was "opposition research."

I'd probably even be more grateful to Junior if it weren't for the fact that he got opposition research entirely wrong. I guess when you're new to politics, it's easy to confuse opposition research and attempted collusion. But for those of us that have spent our lives doing that research, it's a bit more obvious.

Unlike Junior, I know research is about gathering all publicly available facts. That means spending weeks compiling information. Then it means spending several more reading thousands of pages of information, finding patterns, and putting together themes about yourself and your opponent. It's a long, arduous process, and there are rarely shortcuts.

In fairness, Junior was correct that campaigns are often offered the occasional quick fix in the form of opposition research tips. I've spoken with my fair share of conspiracy theorists and flat-earthers. Those leads, unsurprisingly, often turn out to be useless. Most of the time you can dismiss their information out of hand. Occasionally, a tip pans out, which means you have to run down the leads yourself, gathering information available on the public record.

But never once in over two decades of research did any of those tips come from an adversary of the US government. It seems unnecessary to say that a campaign worker should never accept offers of aid from a foreign adversary. However, it also seems straightforward that a candidate for higher office shouldn't brag about sexually assaulting women. So, for the sake of the Trump family, let me be clear: Opposition researchers do not attempt to collude with foreign powers. Ever.

Once the terms Russia and Clinton came up, Junior should have run screaming from this encounter. Nevertheless, he persisted. What makes this attempt even stranger is that Junior was all too happy to take a meeting without knowing who he'd be meeting with.

That is, to be blunt, absolutely insane, even for a newbie. There isn't a researcher in politics, Democrat or Republican, who would blindly agree to such an encounter.

Researchers, by nature, are curious and cautious people. Our jobs demand that we document everything. If I am asked to a meeting, I attempt to research the attendees. I want to know who they are, so I can prepare accordingly. But not Donny. Apparently, all Junior needed to know about his mystery guest was that they worked for Trump family friend Vladimir Putin.

Ignorance is not bliss for opposition researchers, it's dangerous. What if the materials offered to the campaign were stolen? On the rare occasion that a researcher has illicitly obtained information, they have been fired and even prosecuted.

If Junior's accounts of the meeting are true (and given the last four days of contradictory public statements, I have my doubts), he put himself and the campaign in legal peril for nothing. It's incredibly irresponsible to take such a risk, especially without knowing who the other party was or what they had to offer.

But Junior was not satisfied with just putting himself in jeopardy. He decided to bring along his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and the campaign chairman Paul Manafort. In this bizarre tale, this may have been the oddest—and least believable—turn of all.

No researcher, or any campaign staffer for that matter, would ask the the head of the campaign to come along under those circumstances. Do people honestly believe that Junior asked Manafort to carve time out of his day to meet a mystery guest that may or may not have information for the campaign? And that Manafort agreed to such a vague request? If so, there's a class at Trump University I'd like to sell you.

Donald Trump Jr.'s Russian escapade can be called a great many things: irresponsible, a debacle, or even a failed attempt at collusion. But it cannot be called opposition research.

Brett Di Resta is President of the Maccabee Group and an adjunct professor of opposition research at George Washington University.