Pundits are trying to figure out if...

[ThoughtCriminal]

Putin has kompromat OR Trump's ego cannot accept that there was interference because it would reduce his legitimacy.

They do not seem capable of considering the possibility of "AND". These motivations (and some that they are not discussing) are not mutually exclusive.

[emulatorloo]

1. As I see it, Trump knows there was interference because he was in on it.

[empedocles]

2. If I were to go one-dimensional

I would go with trump has a 'criminal mind'; ala Capone, Gotti, Sonny [Corleone], El Chapo, et al

[lostnfound]

3. Or he is so deep in Russian debt and made a deal with the devil nt

[KT2000]

4. some are going there

today. Money, deals,photos, etc.
Jeremy Bash said he has been considering this for a long time and believes that when the USSR fell apart oligarchs and Putin was put in charge, his oligarchs needed to find a way to get their money out of Russia. Trump who they have long known about, became the go-to guy by laundering their money in real estate deals. This is what I thought.

[JI7]

5. making excuses for him

[GeorgeGist]

6. Putin's non-answer to the kompromat question ...

shouldn't challenge the critical thinking skills of a credible pundit.

[Snellius]

7. It might even be worse than the famous pee tape. Whatever the reason it doesn't really matter.

Trump is acting that way. He's one of those people that think no one can tell what's really going on with him but it's so obvious it doesn't take Sigmund Freud to figure it out. Actually for all his fame as a great liar, he really a terrible liar. Great liars act like they're telling the truth. Trump looks like he's falling apart.

[Generic Brad]

8. Why is this an either/or proposition?

It feels like both to me. Both can be true simultaneously.