Stephen Colbert says we now know Trump colluded with Russia, but not who bit Beyoncé

Stephen Colbert makes the case that Trump actually colluded with Russia — (Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

On Tuesday, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team filed a court document suggesting President Trump's former campaign vice chairman Rick Gates was "directly communicating in September and October 2016" with an unidentified person who he knew "has ties to a Russian intelligence service and had such ties in 2016," Stephen Colbert said on Wednesday's Late Show. That person matches the description of Konstantin Kilimnik, who worked with Gates when he was lobbying for Ukrainian politicians in Kiev. "Really? Kilimnik?" Colbert said. "If you're a Russian operative, you might want to go by something less suspicious. Maybe try Sergei Murderov."

"So my question is: Is it collusion yet?" Colbert asked. "Gates was Trump's deputy campaign chairman who stayed on through the inauguration, knowingly met with a Russian spy in the months leading up to the election. What more evidence do we need? Donald Trump in a T-shirt saying 'I Colluded With the Russians and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt — and the Presidency'?"

"So the president almost definitely colluded with Russia," Colbert said. "But there's equally important news out there — Tiffany Haddish says somebody bit Beyoncé." You can watch him unpack that mystery below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.