Maybe the cold medicine is clouding my mind but I'm not seeing the big deal with this story.
This is the summary as I understand it:
* Several outlets report that members and associates of the Trump campaign had sustained contacts with Russians associated with or part of Russian Intelligence.
* The names get released.
* Those named Trump campaign officials deny the allegations entirely.
* Priebus is questioned about the allegations, repeats that they are 100% false, and says that he was told by a very senior (but unnamed) source that the story is complete BS and that investigators know its BS. Priebus makes the point that anonymous sources are fine when providing background and context, but not for serious allegations.
* Story comes out that Priebus talked to the FBI to get them to go on background stating that the story is BS.
So, if those allegations of campaign contact with Russian intelligence were actually false or seriously misstated, and Priebus was told as much by a senior official at the FBI this all makes sense. As far as I know there has been no new reporting that helps confirm the story of these contacts. We have whats been reported on on one side, and complete public denials on the other, and nothing has changed.
If the allegations are true and the administration is lying, those public denials would come back to bite everyone involved. But again, there hasn't been any new reporting on the veracity of those contacts since. And this part sticks in my craw. Those allegations are huge, and the reporting was supposedly well sourced - which means something royally stinks here, but the second shoe hasn't dropped, and we're all left in limbo as regards that story.
Now if the story here is that Priebus shouldn't have spoken to the FBI about this, yeah, thats a story, but I don't think it would have been dramatically different if Pence or the White House counsel had had the discussion rather than Priebus, since those two are allowed to discuss current investigations with the DOJ.
Again, I'm medicated, but I do have doubts about the story of those contacts as reported since the very public and complete denials that have been left unanswered. What am I missing here?