Trump couldn't possibly be a Russian asset...could he?

[B.See]

Another excellent MUST read by Thom Hartmann:

Trump couldn't possibly be a Russian asset...could he? = Rawstory

Imagine you’re in the FBI overseeing national security and a candidate for President [Trump] hired a man who’d:

-taken $66 million from Russian intelligence services via Putin-friendly oligarchs
-helped Russia install their own puppet government in Ukraine in 2010,
-was paid $1 million a year to help the corrupt dictator Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), solidify his relationship with Moscow,
-forced his party to remove references in their platform to defending Ukrainian democracy,
-gave a Russian intelligence agent top-secret insider campaign information about voters in 6 swing states so they could run an ultimately successful micro-targeted Facebook campaign to help [Trump]
-offered to run the campaign for free because he’d been well-compensated by Russian intelligence services, and then
-repeatedly lied to the FBI about his connections to Putin and Russia, leading to his being charged, convicted, and imprisoned until [Trump] pardoned him.

This above was just a piece of all the QUESTIONABLE incidents correctly cited by the author.

To which, my answer to his question would be, if Donald WALKS like a duck, LOOKS like a duck, and QUACKS like a duck, then he quite possibly COULD be.....

[elleng]

1. HAS been,

for YEARS!

[Generic Brad]

29. And now he'll be a has been for years

He is now a Russian liability.

[Grins]

31. Since 1987. And watched for years before that.

The StB – Czechoslovakia’s communist state intelligence agency spied on Trump and his Czechoslovak-born wife, Ivana, in the late 1970s and into the 80s when she made regular trips back to visit her father, Miloš Zelníček- who was a communist snitch for the StB.

He became a target of the KGB soon after during a recruitment effort to get more foreign assets that might eventually “be of use” to the Soviets. We KNOW who first recruited him in NY, and we KNOW how he did it.

When he first visited Moscow he was put up in damn LENIN SUITE at the National Hotel, a KGB hotel, in the same room that once was lived in by VLADIMIR LENIN! You think Joe and Claudia from Paramus, NJ could book that room?

Of course he’s a Russian asset!

[elleng]

35. Thanks for the history, Grins.

[Botany]

2. Of course he is. A New Report Adds Evidence That Trump Was a Russian Asset

This is from republicans

A New Report Adds Evidence That Trump Was a Russian Asset
He helped Putin manipulate the U.S. election in 2020, as he did in 2016

Donald Trump was a tool in a long-running Russian campaign to weaken the United States. That’s been documented in Republican-led investigative reports, and now it has been updated with new evidence, thanks to the U.S. Intelligence Community’s assessment of the 2020 election. The report, drafted by the CIA, the FBI, and several other agencies, was released in unclassified form on Tuesday, but it was presented in classified form on Jan. 7. In other words, it was compiled, written, and edited during Trump’s administration. It destroys his lies about the election, and it exposes him as a Russian asset.

snip

just remember "hunter biden is bad" is a Russian talking point.

As to Russia, the report leaves no doubt: In 2020, as in 2016, “President Putin authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted, influence operations” to help Trump and hurt his Democratic opponent. For example, “Shortly after the 2018 midterm elections, Russian intelligence cyber actors attempted to hack organizations primarily affiliated with the Democratic Party.” Then, in late 2019, Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU, “conducted a phishing campaign against subsidiaries of Burisma holdings, likely in an attempt to gather information related to President Biden’s family.” Throughout the 2020 election, agents “connected to the Russian Federal Security Service,” FSB, planted negative stories about Biden. Internet operatives working for the Kremlin, including the troll farm that had boosted Trump in 2016, continued to promote “Trump and his commentary, including repeating his political messaging.”

Attacks on Biden and his son, Hunter, were part of this operation. Through “US officials and prominent US individuals, some of whom were close to former President Trump and his administration,” the report says Russia’s intelligence services “repeatedly spread unsubstantiated or misleading claims about President Biden and his family’s alleged wrongdoing related to Ukraine.” In this way, Trump’s circle “laundered” the Russian-planted stories, which were then recirculated—and promoted by Russia’s online proxies—as American news.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/03/trump-russian-asset-election-intelligence-community-report.html

[erronis]

10. Let me correct you, Botany. Trump WAS and trump IS a russian asset.

He's been bought; hook, line, and sinker.

He ain't going to squiggle off that USSR/Putin line without being thrown on the fire.

He might get netted by the US state/federal authorities first, though. Thrown into a cooler for the rest of his days to think about ....nothing....

[Botany]

33. Putin had been working Trump as an asset for at least 25 to 30 years

Trump was an easy mark to a KGB agent like Putin.

America has had 3 people who betrayed the nation as much as Trump* did and we
executed 2 of them and the 3rd just died in the US supermax lock up in Colorado.


* allegedly

[gab13by13]

3. Just imagine if Thom was on cable news, prime time.

I know better, cable news is owned and managed by right wing domestic oligarchs.

[Earth-shine]

40. He was on prime time cable at 8PM. He had a big, beautiful set on the RT network.

Many have criticized him for being there.

Not me. I was a fan.

I believed him when he said RT never told him what to do. His show was his own.

Unfortunately, the ironic effect was that Thom's good reputation was used to bolster RT's liberal credentials at a time when RT was becoming known as a Putin propaganda network, thus dragging Thom's reputation down.

[keithbvadu2]

4. The best investment Putin ever made was putting money into Trump.

[Turbineguy]

5. Are the Russians stupid enough to hire him?

[milestogo]

7. Americans are stupid enough to vote for him.

We haven't cornered the market on stupid yet.

[mountain grammy]

30. Yep.. as it turn out.

unbelievably stupid.

[BidenRocks]

37. Are you now

or have you ever been a communist?

Maybe we sadly need a little Joe McCarthy to force an introspection.

I am too old to see this again.

[mountain grammy]

38. I think he might start bragging about it

and Putin would be mad enough to make his plane fall to the ground.. awwwww! how do ya like the deep state now donnie?

[MLAA]

6. Slight variation

If TFG walks like a fuck up, looks like a fuck up and quacks like a fuck up, he is definitely a fuck up 🙂.

[Joinfortmill]

8. Yup, he's a Russian asset & so is his wife

[erronis]

15. But she was known to be an asset from the beginning.

He was only highly suspected.

The damn US "You are innocent until convicted" credo seems to give these crooks and criminals too much room to do their damage before the 'law' starts to think about flexing their muscles to get ready to research whether something has happened.

And we know that there may be years/decades/centuries before any meaningful laws are written to alleviate the original problem. And by then, the problem has morphed.

[progressoid]

9. Must read but can't read. I ain't a subscriber.

[oldsoftie]

11. Since this is. paywalled, is he talking about Flynn?

[thomhartmann]

28. Here's a non-paywll version:

https://hartmannreport.com/p/trump-couldnt-possibly-be-a-russian

[oldsoftie]

42. Thank you!! Excellent resource

[B.See]

44. Thanks for the link Thom

Oddly the RS paywall didn't initially pop-up for me, and I'm not a subscriber.

Btw, your commentary is always NOTHING short of excellent, imo. I'm a BIG fan.

[mahina]

45. Great article. Thank you Thomashartmann!

I just sent it to my beloved uncle, 82, who did not know and disbelieved me. This is helpful!

[DemocraticPatriot]

12. A Russian duck...

quack quack quack

[jaxexpat]

13. If Trump is a Russian asset that explains the inflationary spiral its economy suffers.

[Emile]

14. His cover, play Super Victim!

[2naSalit]

20. Nails it!!

[mitch96]

24. Yup, that's 6'3, 215 lbs fer sure...nt

[brooklynite]

16. No, he couldn't

Far too erratic in his behavior. And his narcissism would make him highly unreliable.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

17. It would not surprise me.

Trump and Putin are two devils who enjoys dancing in the pale moonlight.

[Xavier Breath]

18. Yes, a Russian asset minus the "et." n/t

[Hortensis]

19. Sure, but. The way Russia and other intelligence services use Russia's terms:

AGENTS are Russian intel employees, like James Bond.

ASSETS are people who give significant assistance (knowing, not knowing, paid, unpaid, intentionally, unintentionally, coerced, voluntary).

USEFUL IDIOTS are...that. Like LWers who claim progressive ideals but make choices that clear the way for Republicans.

By all definitions and beyond any question, tRump has been a BEYOND-HUGE asset to Russia. Still is, still being used. Was there a genuine deal or deals before? After? Or did Russia just apply him like a powerful poison to our nation? Unquestioningly with his compliance, of course.

[LymphocyteLover]

21. Asset? No doubt about it at ALL!!!

[Poiuyt]

22. Remember how they tried to set up a back channel network between Trump and the Kremlin

so that there would be no record of their communication?

[dchill]

25. Yeah, that was Jared's assignment, wasn't it?

[Wounded Bear]

23. To me the question is: How could he NOT be a Russian asset?

[dchill]

26. More to the point - how can our media NOT talk about?

Oh. Right.

[relayerbob]

27. The Russians have been gloating about it for years

Been grooming him and financing him since the 1980s

[Sancho]

32. He's an asset of whoever pays him...

[albacore]

34. Putin hates loose ends. trump is a loose end.

He runs his mouth so much he could embarrass Putin.
Embarrassing Putin can be dangerous to trump's health.
Putin is done with him, anyway.

[Botany]

36. Putin hates loose ends. And so is Tony DVolder aka George Santos

I don't predict a good future for him.

[jmowreader]

39. You've heard of "gaydar"

I have been told gay people have a "sixth sense" - they can spot other gay people a mile away.

Those of us who've been in the intelligence community have the same sixth sense about spies. Mine has screamed, "Donald Trump is a spy" for...well, probably about fifteen years. How I can tell is by looking at his financial condition. Trump is worse with money than my ex-wife was. The son-of-a-bitch can spend the same dollar seven or eight times - and he won't stop doing it. He got so bad the American banks have stopped loaning him money. When you need as much of it as he does there are only a couple places to get it - the Mafia and Russian intelligence. He wouldn't depend solely on the Mafia because they'll kill you if you don't keep up with your payments and Trump defaults on his payments as a matter of course...so, he's stuck with Russian spies for his funding.

Now consider: Trump was running a birth tourism racket for Russians for a lot of years before he got caught. A pregnant Russian woman could sign up for a program by which she would rent a room in one of Trump's hotels and give birth on American soil. This kid was automatically a US citizen, and by having a US citizen child it was real easy for the parents to gain legal US residency. PLEASE don't tell me there were no GRU or FSB employees who went through this program!

Then they decided they needed him "on the inside," which is why they ran him for office. But they couldn't run him for governor or Congress because officials at those levels don't have access to the Really Juicy Shit. Only a president does, so they started him out at the top.

The worst part of this all can be stated as such: even if you were to absolutely prove Trump was a spy his loyal fans wouldn't care. Trump hates the right people so whatever he does is fine with them.

[Snooper9]

41. I guess technically a stooge could serve as an asset-

[betsuni]

43. Duh. "No puppet, no puppet, you're the puppet!"