(Just for the sake of argument, assuming Russia is involved exactly as stated...) I don't think Russia had any particular leverage over Trump. Rather, Russia

(Just for the sake of argument, assuming Russia is involved exactly as stated...) I don't think Russia had any particular leverage over Trump. Rather, Russia is desperate to avert war between 2 nuclear armed powers. Most US citizens have no idea how tense relations have gotten between Russia and the US in the last year. Hillary's stated policy of implementing a no fly zone over Syria would have almost certainly led to armed conflict between the US and Russia. As for Trump, it remains to be seen what happens, but he has said he wants to work with Russia to take down ISIS, which is a mutual problem both countries face, and to me that cooperation sounds better than WW3.