Donald Trump and Devin Nunes are working together to discover the name of a secret U.S. intelligence source so they can disclose his identity. Their goal is to undercut the credibility of the Mueller investigation. The practical effect of disclosing the name of a secret intelligence source, however, is that it may get him killed. It also may completely destroy the viability of other ongoing U.S. intelligence operations.
Could it be that Trump and Nunes are actually trying to get the secret source killed? If so that would be an unprecedented act of treachery by the U.S. president and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Today’s Washington Post is reporting that U.S. intelligence sources met with three different Donald Trump advisers during the 2016 presidential campaign. The three advisers were Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, and Sam Clovis. The sources had long been working as informants for U.S. intelligence services and were not “planted†in the Trump campaign by the FBI.
The president, however, has claimed otherwise. Â On Friday he tweeted:
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“Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president. It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a “hot†Fake News story. If true – all time biggest political scandal!â€
Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president. It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a “hot†Fake News story. If true – all time biggest political scandal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2018
There is an important difference between an “FBI representative implanted for political purposes†into a campaign and what really happened — the use of a longtime U.S. intelligence source to gather information.
What is unprecedented and very disturbing is that both the president and Republicans in Congress are working hard to discover the name of the secret U.S. intelligence source so they can disclose his identity.
If they do disclose the source’s identity, this will put his life at risk, and also threaten other ongoing U.S. intelligence investigations around the world.
As the Washington Post reported on Friday,
“President Trump’s allies are waging an increasingly aggressive campaign to undercut the Russia investigation by exposing the role of a top-secret FBI source. The effort reached new heights Thursday as Trump alleged that an informant had improperly spied on his 2016 campaign and predicted that the ensuing scandal would be “bigger than Watergate!â€
“The extraordinary push begun by a cadre of Trump boosters on Capitol Hill now has champions across the GOP and throughout conservative media.â€
“The dispute pits Trump and the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee against the Justice Department and intelligence agencies, whose leaders warn that publicly identifying the confidential source would put lives in danger and imperil other operations.â€
According to the Post “there is no evidence to suggest someone was planted with the campaign. The source in question engaged in a months-long pattern of seeking out and meeting three different Trump campaign officials.”
The Post also reported that they have confirmed the identity of the source who provided information for the investigation into the Trump campaign. They are not reporting his name because they have been warned by U.S. intelligence officials that doing so could put at risk his life as well as the lives of his contacts.
Several weeks ago Nunes issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for all documents related to the informant who had provided information to the FBI and other intelligence agencies. The Justice Department refused to provide the information, however, saying that exposing his identity would have severe consequences.
On May 2 senior national intelligence officials (including from the FBI) warned the president and his advisers in the White House that information being sought by the Nunes subpoena put their source’s safety at risk. They said that it would also damage U.S. relationships with its intelligence partners.
In today’s article the Post says
“Many questions about the informant’s role in the Russia investigation remain unanswered. It is unclear how he first became involved in the case, the extent of the information he provided and the actions he took to obtain intelligence for the FBI. It is also unknown whether his July 2016 interaction with Page was brokered by the FBI or another intelligence agency.”
On Wednesday we published an article called “The FBI Infiltrated Trump Campaign In 2016 With Secret Subpoenas And Government Informants.”
What we have learned since then, and what is new today, is that the FBI did not “implant” a spy within Trump’s campaign, as he has claimed. All the FBI did was use intelligence information gathered by a longtime U.S. intelligence source.
The fact that Donald Trump is both lying about what happened AND is also attempting to disclose confidential U.S. intelligence sources, putting lives and intelligence operations at risk, is possibly the greatest act of treason we have yet to see from this despicable person. We can only hope that the full extent of his crimes will soon be made public so that justice can be done on behalf of the American people.
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.
