Worst Case, Part 2
The Worst Case Scenario, Part 2
Trump’s Russia problems are escalating. They have already led to the resignation of Security Council Head Mike Flynn. It may yet lead to the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. When we get our news in snippets and soundbites, it may be difficult to see the big picture. How did we get here, and how bad could this get?
Candidate Trump took a surprisingly soft position on Russia. He spoke in glowing and respectful terms when describing Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump suggested that the United States should not defend members of NATO who were not contributing sufficient funds to the alliance, and he seemed unconcerned by Russia’s undermining of the Ukrainian government, and Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Playing on Hillary Clinton’s lingering email server scandal, Trump suggested that Putin and the Russians hack Clinton’s computer and “find the 50,000 emails” that Clinton had deleted. Russian intelligence responded by hacking into Democratic Party servers and revealing embarrassing emails in which party officials were clearly favoring Clinton and dismissive and insulting towards her rival Bernie Sanders and his followers.
This action, on the heels of Trump’s ill advised statement, gave the appearance of collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. When confronted with this, Trump attacked the US intelligence community, saying that their information was wrong, a charge he has continued to make while President.
A key Trump advisor during this time was Paul Manafort, who had received $12.7 million for assisting Russia’s efforts to divide and undermine the Ukrainian government. Manafort was removed from his role during the campaign, when the Russian questions first began to arise, but questions about the Trump camp’s relationship with Russia persisted.
Recent news reports state that Mike Flynn had taken money from a Russian media company which is actually a propaganda arm of the Russian government. Flynn was later forced to resign when he lied about his contacts with Russian ambassador Kislyak.
The FBI and CIA believe that Kislyak is a spy, and a spy master. He is here in the United States to recruit members of our government to spy for Russia. (Don’t be shocked. We have someone in Moscow doing the same job.) That Kislyak also had a private meeting with Jeff Sessions, and Sessions lied under oath about the meeting, is extremely troubling.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has his own Russian connection. Previously, he was CEO of the oil giant Exxon Mobil. Exxon has an $500 billion oil deal on the table with Russia that is on hold, blocked by sanctions the Obama administration imposed after Russia’s invasion of Crimea. Tillerson, as Secretary of State, is in a position to lift these sanctions and give a major boon to his former company, the company he has worked for nearly his entire life.
What are Trump’s own business connections with Russia? The President has neither disclosed his tax returns or shared much light on his international business ties. Nor has he in any way divested himself from the company that bears his name, that his sons are now running. What financial incentives does Trump have for improving relations with Russia?
Conflicts of interest are only one scenario on the table at the moment. There is another chilling possibility: that spymaster Kislyak has succeeded, and now someone in Trump’s inner circle is sharing vital information with our geopolitical rival.
I don’t think Trump himself is a spy. But, is he naive and inexperienced enough to allow a spy into his midst unwittingly? Yes. And, if there is an uptick in communication with Russia related to the business relationships that Trump and others have with Russia, that communication could provide a cover for espionage.
That’s our worst case scenario right now - that Trump has a Russian spy and doesn’t know it. We need to pull back the curtain on the Trump administration’s connections with Russia and answer these pressing questions. Congressional hearings begin March 20th, 2017.
Want more? Check this out: https://swalwell.house.gov/issues/rus...
Trump’s Russia problems are escalating. They have already led to the resignation of Security Council Head Mike Flynn. It may yet lead to the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. When we get our news in snippets and soundbites, it may be difficult to see the big picture. How did we get here, and how bad could this get?
Candidate Trump took a surprisingly soft position on Russia. He spoke in glowing and respectful terms when describing Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump suggested that the United States should not defend members of NATO who were not contributing sufficient funds to the alliance, and he seemed unconcerned by Russia’s undermining of the Ukrainian government, and Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Playing on Hillary Clinton’s lingering email server scandal, Trump suggested that Putin and the Russians hack Clinton’s computer and “find the 50,000 emails” that Clinton had deleted. Russian intelligence responded by hacking into Democratic Party servers and revealing embarrassing emails in which party officials were clearly favoring Clinton and dismissive and insulting towards her rival Bernie Sanders and his followers.
This action, on the heels of Trump’s ill advised statement, gave the appearance of collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. When confronted with this, Trump attacked the US intelligence community, saying that their information was wrong, a charge he has continued to make while President.
A key Trump advisor during this time was Paul Manafort, who had received $12.7 million for assisting Russia’s efforts to divide and undermine the Ukrainian government. Manafort was removed from his role during the campaign, when the Russian questions first began to arise, but questions about the Trump camp’s relationship with Russia persisted.
Recent news reports state that Mike Flynn had taken money from a Russian media company which is actually a propaganda arm of the Russian government. Flynn was later forced to resign when he lied about his contacts with Russian ambassador Kislyak.
The FBI and CIA believe that Kislyak is a spy, and a spy master. He is here in the United States to recruit members of our government to spy for Russia. (Don’t be shocked. We have someone in Moscow doing the same job.) That Kislyak also had a private meeting with Jeff Sessions, and Sessions lied under oath about the meeting, is extremely troubling.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has his own Russian connection. Previously, he was CEO of the oil giant Exxon Mobil. Exxon has an $500 billion oil deal on the table with Russia that is on hold, blocked by sanctions the Obama administration imposed after Russia’s invasion of Crimea. Tillerson, as Secretary of State, is in a position to lift these sanctions and give a major boon to his former company, the company he has worked for nearly his entire life.
What are Trump’s own business connections with Russia? The President has neither disclosed his tax returns or shared much light on his international business ties. Nor has he in any way divested himself from the company that bears his name, that his sons are now running. What financial incentives does Trump have for improving relations with Russia?
Conflicts of interest are only one scenario on the table at the moment. There is another chilling possibility: that spymaster Kislyak has succeeded, and now someone in Trump’s inner circle is sharing vital information with our geopolitical rival.
I don’t think Trump himself is a spy. But, is he naive and inexperienced enough to allow a spy into his midst unwittingly? Yes. And, if there is an uptick in communication with Russia related to the business relationships that Trump and others have with Russia, that communication could provide a cover for espionage.
That’s our worst case scenario right now - that Trump has a Russian spy and doesn’t know it. We need to pull back the curtain on the Trump administration’s connections with Russia and answer these pressing questions. Congressional hearings begin March 20th, 2017.
Want more? Check this out: https://swalwell.house.gov/issues/rus...
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