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Really good read. justsecurity.org/63660/is-trump…
I think it is entirely plausible that Mr. Trump is somehow compromised by his personal and financial dealings with Russia and Russians, but I do not think he is an “agent” in the sense that intelligence professionals use the term. 
Russia ➡️ are also more comfortable with sources who can help them in some manner or other even if they are not fully recruited spies.
as well as maintaining friendships with people who either knowingly or unknowingly accept their propaganda. They call these people “useful idiots.”
However, aside from Trump’s flawed personality, there is a lot of circumstantial evidence that Trump is nonetheless acting counter to U.S. interests in a conspiratorial manner.
He clearly crossed a line and can be objectively labeled an agent of a foreign power in the standard definition of the word. From the Russian perspective, it is a win-win even if the relationship doesn’t meet the cloak-and-dagger definition of a wholly clandestine espionage agent
Even more likely, they may see him as similar to the corrupt oligarchs around Putin. In many ways, Putin has built a mafia/gangster state reliant on a powerful intelligence apparatus.
Once you swim in the pool of dirty money, corruption, blackmail and espionage, you need to play by the unwritten rules in order to keep your head above water.
While President Trump is unlikely to be a full-blown recruited and controlled source, there may be those around him who are.
At the same time, a number of members and associates of the Trump campaign displayed a clear willingness to engage in shady behavior and cover-ups.
Then, all of those contacted concealed the contacts and repeatedly lied about them. After all that, they added insult to injury by repeatedly attacking the credibility of those professionals empowered by the American people to investigate foreign intelligence attacks ...
In any event, playing footsie with a hostile intelligence service may not be illegal but it is unpatriotic, unwise and dangerous.
if anyone associated with the campaign may have been a witting source for the Kremlin it was either Carter Page or Paul Manafort.
Manafort a different story ➡️ Failure to proposition him would have been an act of professional negligence by the Russian services. It was just too easy.
The fact that he accepted the meeting and failed to report Russian efforts to fence stolen data suggest that he was comfortable engaging in illicit, subversive, and potentially criminal behavior. He displayed top-level access and a clear willingness to conspire.
Likewise, many of the meetings between Trump associates and Russians appear to have been part of the early courtship phase of classic espionage gamesmanship. We don’t yet have enough evidence to conclude that any of these relationships were consummated.
Russia’s intent, ability and relentlessness are clear. Likewise, the willingness of members of the Trump campaign to conspire is equally clear.
Their clear willingness to do so, however, demands at least a political reckoning, as provided for in the U.S. Constitution.
