People often ask why the news media gives so much attention to Donald Trump’s personal life, such as affairs with porn stars and allegations of sexual misconduct. The answer is that these are the kinds of things that often lead to blackmail. If the leader of the free world is at risk of being blackmailed because of his personal behavior, then that is a national security issue.
So when news comes out about nondisclosure agreements Trump has paid women to sign in exchange for their silence about sexual relationships with him, the first question we must ask is this: how much is out there that we don’t know about?
Another relevant and important question is this: how much does Putin know about Trump that we don’t know about? And even more importantly: Is Putin holding something scandalous over Trump and in effect blackmailing him to follow Putin’s wishes?
That is the theory of a former CIA Director, John Brennan.
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Former CIA Director John Brennan says Trump is afraid of Putin. https://t.co/cp1TaFur16 pic.twitter.com/hyPH7Zz4d6
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 21, 2018
“I think he is afraid of the President of Russia,” Brennan said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “The Russians could have something on him personally that they could always roll out and make his life more difficult.”
Brennan pointed out that the Russians have known Donald Trump for a long time and have had many years of experience working with him. As a result, he said, they may have knowledge of things that they could expose and hurt the president (or at least make him afraid of this happening). When asked if he thought Russia definitely had compromising information they were using against Trump Brennan simply replied, “perhaps.”
“But the fact that (Trump) has had this fawning attitude toward Mr. Putin, has not said anything negative about him, I think continues to say to me that he does have something to fear and something very serious to fear,” stressed Brennan, who had served in the CIA for decades before being named head of the intelligence agency by President Barack Obama.
The former CIA director was highly critical of Trump’s congratulatory phone call to Putin on Tuesday. In this call he did not mention Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections or the alleged nerve agent attack against a former spy in the United Kingdom.
“To congratulate (Putin) and treat him so nicely while he treats Americans with such disdain, I think it just demonstrates he looks at the world through a prism of what is going to help and protect Donald Trump,” Brennan said of Trump.
Brennan’s speculation that Russia and Putin may be blackmailing Trump has not been proven or confirmed by U.S. intelligence agencies. However, President Obama did receive classified documents which contained allegations that Russian operatives were making claims that they do have “dirt” on Trump, of both a personal and financial nature. If Bob Mueller or U.S. intelligence agencies have confirmed these allegations, the information has not been made public yet. But someday it probably will be made public, and then Trump will really have something serious to worry about.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
