Russian to Judgement

Pretty much no one other than the principals involved (and I, of course, include myself among the "Pretty much no one") has even the slightest way of knowing if this is even remotely true in the slightest.  I don't believe it is, but there's more shading to the story, which is the point here today.
 
This was posted on TwiXter a couple nights ago by Seth Abrahamson, who’s a reasonably well-respected “journalist, lawyer, NYT-bestselling Trump and Musk biographer, former CNN and BBC analyst, retired journalism professor.”  He wrote --
 
“MAJOR BREAKING NEWS: The Daily Beast published a sourced allegation that Trump has been a Russian spy since 1987 and—possibly under threat—deleted it. But in an act of unusual heroism, it left it up long enough for archives to capture. PLEASE RETWEET:”
 
Now, honestly, as I said, although I obviously have zero way of knowing if this story -- alleged by a former Soviet intelligence chief -- is true, I doubt that it is.  Further, I completely understand why it has been basically unreported:  there just is far too much that isn't or can't be (for now) corroborated for such a highly-damning charge -- though whether that's the reason, or it was pulled by The Daily Beast under pressure, which is another matter (and story...) entirely.  Rather, I’m writing about this because, while I doubt that Trump is a “Russian spy,” I have long believed (and wrote on these pages during his 2016 campaign) that I do think Putin has something on Trump who (while not a “spy”) is what’s known in Russia as a “useful idiot.”
 
And I say this, not as a conspiratorialist or just because so many of Trump’s actions heavily embrace Putin and Russia.  That grip can, in part (or in very large part) be attributed to his well-documented love of strongmen dictators like Hungary’s Orban, Turkey’s Erdogan, North Korea’s Kim, China’s Xi, Putin of course, and more -- but I say it because of another factor.
 
It’s well-known and accepted that Russia spies on and records prominent businessmen from around the world when the visit the country.  And Trump, we know, visited Russia often before he was elected in 2016, trying to set up deals there, trying to get the rights to a Trump-brand hotel in Moscow.  What we also know is Trump loves, loves, loves to talk about himself and brag endlessly to salve his rapaciously needy ego.  And we know he loves to flaunt laws (putting aside him saying he wants to throw out the U.S. Constitution, witness his settlement with the DOJ for illegal rental practices and his many recent convictions).  And loves to humiliate others.  And exaggerates and lies.
 
So, it is near-impossible for me to imagine that in all his trips to Russia, Trump didn’t try to impress his Russian hosts with how brilliant he was in making deals and tricking people he was negotiating with and cheating the fools.  And cheating the government, getting around their laws using his mass of attorneys to find loopholes both legal and illegal -- we even heard him brag in his 2016 debate with Hilary Clinton that he didn’t pay any taxes, and the reason he gave was “Because I’m smart.”  There are a lot of actually smart people who pay taxes.  And we heard him brag that women let you do anything if you’re a star and can grab their p*ssy.  And we know he was found liable (twice) for the equivalence of rape.  So, he likely bragged in Russia, as well, what he did with and to women whether they wanted him to do so or not.  Bragged about whatever he could – the truth, exaggerations, lies – including clever things, questionably deceitful things and even illegal things to impress every Russian businessman, every Russian government official, every Russian period who he met.
 
It's just almost impossible for me to even imagine he didn’t.  And it’s equally impossible for me to imagine that throughout it all, when at a party or in a private room, his Russian comrade wouldn’t say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that clearly, could you repeat it and speak louder into that vase.”  Or into their lapel pin.  Or into the bed headboard.  Or into wherever a microphone was hidden.  And it’s all on tape or digitized.
 
I cannot imagine that Trump didn’t say things that would be deeply embarrassing to him if made public or that was illegal because he says all of that regularly, almost every time he’s spoken in public for the past eight years.  If not decades.  And it’s impossible for me to think Russia doesn’t have a vault dedicated to what Trump has said (embarrassing, illegal or just boring) on his visits over the years – because that’s what Russia does for all prominent businessmen.
 
And so, I’ve long believed that Russia has something recorded on file about Trump that he wouldn’t want known. They probably have massive volumes of such things on Trump – much about things illegal -- but even just “something” that’s embarrassing is enough.  And so, it’s almost near-impossible to imagine he hasn’t been a “useful idiot” for Russia for decades.  And when you do even just one favor for Putin and Russia, you’re hooked.  Because everything then builds on that and gets worse.  And then – to Putin’s amazement and joy – this “useful idiot” and plain idiot because president of the United States.
 
I would believe that in my bones even if Trump never was elected.  And I would believe it even if he didn’t lay down and roll over for Putin at every chance he’s had.  But given the reality that Trump was elected – and that he has rolled over for Putin about not just near-everything, but the most egregious, reprehensible things – now, saying that Ukraine started the war that Russia began and saying that it’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy who’s the dictator, not Putin who has been charged by the International Criminal Court as a war criminal – it’s on the edge of impossible that Trump today is in Russia and Putin’s pocket.
 
That doesn’t make him a “spy.”  In fact, being Trump, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s convinced himself that everything he says and does that favors Putin is perfectly normal and his own idea and brilliant and all for the good of America.  What it does, though, is make him – at best – a “useful idiot.”
 
With all that said, here’s how that archived Daily Beast article begins.  But first, I must repeat:  I don’t believe Trump is a Russian spy (for starters, because I think Trump is too much of an actual idiot to be a spy...) -- while adding that my not believing it doesn’t mean it’s not so, I just don’t believe it, most especially without serious evidence. But everything the former Soviet intelligence chief has charged in the article could overlap with and give weight to the likely truth of Putin having something embarrassing or illegal on Trump and threatening him with going public...and using him --

A former Soviet intelligence officer has alleged that Donald Trump was recruited by the KGB in 1987 and given the codename “Krasnov.”
 
Alnur Mussayev, 71, a former Kazakh intelligence chief, made the explosive claim in a Facebook post on Thursday. He claimed that he served in the 6th Directorate of the KGB in Moscow, which was responsible for counter-intelligence support within the economy. One of its key objectives, he claimed, was “recruiting businessmen from capitalist countries.”
 
Mussayev wrote that in 1987 “our directorate recruited Donald Trump, a 40-year-old American businessman, under the pseudonym Krasnov.
He reiterated that the department specialized in recruiting spies and intelligence sources from the West, asserting once again that Trump had been brought into the fold.
​
“I hope I’ll survive a third assassination attempt,” he said in a comment below his post.
He made another shocking allegation in another comment, saying: “Today, the personal file of resident ‘Krasnov’ has been removed from the FSB. It is being privately managed by one of Putin’s close associates.”

There's more, and you can read the full archived article here.