Former CIA Agents Detail How Trump’s Collusion With Russia Probably Happened

As Special Counsel Robert Mueller continues his investigation into the Trump-Russia matter, there remains plenty of unanswered questions regarding how and when possible collusion between the president and Russia may have begun, and why exactly Trump may have decided to engage in such risky behavior.

Two former CIA agents, former chief of station for the CIA John Sipher and former CIA chief of Russian operations Steve Hall, have written an op-ed for the New York Times which suggests that not only was the Russian government “running some sort of intelligence operation involving the Trump campaign, but also that it is impossible to rule out the possibility of collusion between the two.”

Russian interference in the 2016 election, Sipher and Hall suggest, probably began with the hacking of the Democratic National Committee:

“It is entirely plausible, for example, that the original Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee’s computer servers was an effort simply to collect intelligence and get an idea of the plans of the Democratic Party and its presidential candidate.”

Next, the two former intelligence operatives comment on the meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and two or more Russian agents which was originally set up by publicist Rob Goldstone:

“If the fish bit and they were able to reel it in, the email from Mr. Goldstone could remain hidden and, since it was from an acquaintance, would be deniable if found.

“Perhaps the most telling piece of information may be the most obvious. Donald Trump himself made numerous statements in support of Russia, Russian intelligence and WikiLeaks during the campaign. At the same time, Mr. Trump and his team have gone out of their way to hide contacts with Russians and lied to the public about it.”

And how has Trump reacted to revelations of potential collusion with Russia? This, Sipher and Hall note, is the most damning evidence against the president:

“He fired his FBI director James Comey, criticized and bullied his attorney general and deputy attorney general, denigrated the FBI and the CIA, and assails the news media, labeling anything he dislikes ‘fake news.’

“Innocent people don’t tend to behave this way.”

Donald Trump is not innocent. If he was, he’d be offering to fully cooperate with Mueller. Instead, he continues to look for ways to fire him. What does that tell you?

This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org

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