Sunday, January 15, 2017

World Spy Agencies Are Digging Into Trump’s Moscow Ties

MI-6 headquarters
As noted in previous posts, I do not have high faith in American intelligence agencies in digging out the truth about Donald Trump's ties to Moscow and his collusion in the Russian efforts to throw him the election on November 8, 2016, especially after Der Fuhrer is inaugurated on Friday.  While some Congressional Republicans are alarmed and want answers, the majority I fear put their own power and partisanship over the interests of the nation and the protection of democracy itself.  Many resemble members of the Roman Senate that voted Octavian Caesar (later called Emperor Augustus) powers with the failed belief that they could control him.  Thus, it will likely fall to allied intelligence agencies to find out the truth of Trump's Moscow ties and possible treasonous actions.  BuzzFeed, which Trump has attacked for publishing the raw memos complied by a former MI-6 Russian specialist, follows up on what foreign intelligence agencies are up to.  Here are excerpts:
The dossier alleging that the Russian government has compromised President-elect Donald Trump has not only been circulating at the highest levels of the US government, but also among the intelligence agencies of other countries, two Israeli intelligence officers told BuzzFeed News. And while the dossier’s claims haven’t been verified, the officers said that intelligence services from other countries have been doing their own digging into Trump’s connections to Moscow.
“You can trust me that many intelligence agencies are trying to evaluate the extent to which Trump might have ties, or a weakness of some type, to Russia,” one of the intelligence officers said.
Part of Israel’s interest, he said, came from wanting to know how much of the intelligence it routinely shares with the Unites States might be fed to Russia.
Besides the Steele dossier, several unconfirmed reports of ties between Moscow and Trump are being circulated among Western intelligence agencies, said one of the Israeli officials familiar with the reports.
“There have been various reports about Trump’s ties to Russia,” the officer said in reference to other unpublished reports. “The dossier is one of them, but there are others, they make other allegations. Some are more specific, and some are less. You can trust me that many intelligence agencies are trying to evaluate the extent to which Trump might have ties, or a weakness of some type, to Russia.”
The officer said Israel had received the dossier via a Western European ally, though he would not specify the country, arguing it was “not appropriate.” The BBC also reported that the US had received the dossier via a “Baltic State,” though it did not specify which one, and that there were video tapes and audio that could be used to blackmail Trump.
The officer said intelligence officials from various countries were privy to other reports, some compiled by intelligence officers, which detailed prior ties Trump might have to Russia, as well as various global business interests held by the Trump family.
“According to the Israelis who were present in the meeting, the Americans recommended that until it is made clear that Trump is not inappropriately connected to Russia and is not being extorted – Israel should avoid revealing sensitive sources to administration officials for fear the information would reach the Iranians,” the Yediot Ahronot reported.

Needless to say, if allies are afraid to share intelligence reports with America, it puts this nation and its citizens at risk.  I hope these other nations get the goods on Trump and take him down.  

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