The danger posed by Russian election interference was not that it might affect the election, but our reaction to the election. The whole point of Russia doing the interference at all, and in such transparent manner, was to undermine our trust in elections. A "wilderness of mirrors" effect turns Americans on one another. It doesn't matter that no quid pro quo gets agreed to in your Trump Tower meeting. It only matters that you have the meeting and communicate the quid pro quo. Americans will do the rest themselves.
The danger posed by Russian election interference was not that it might affect the election, but our reaction to the election. The whole point of Russia doing the interference at all, and in such transparent manner, was to undermine our trust in elections. A "wilderness of mirrors" effect turns Americans on one another. It doesn't matter that no quid pro quo gets agreed to in your Trump Tower meeting. It only matters that you have the meeting and communicate the quid pro quo. Americans will do the rest themselves.