re: #445 MsJ

Which isn’t illegal until they use them.

Versus colliding with Russians. Which is illegal whether you use it or not because now you’re in their pocket and are vulnerable to blackmail, whether you’re blackmailed or not.

No, it’s illegal if the intent is to use the documents to commit a crime. There are plenty of things you do that are ordinarily legal, but if they are done to further illegal aims, then they are a crime.

Another example of this is the crime of felony murder. If you commit (or even attempt to commit) a felony and someone dies in the process, you are liable for first degree murder. As an example, you decide to rob a bank and actually go through with it, you tie up a security guard and gag him, as a result of the gag he suffocates and dies (or it triggers a cardiac arrest) - even though you didn’t intend to kill him, he died as a result of your felonious actions (robbing the bank), and therefore you’re liable for first degree murder.