Thread by @The_War_Economy

"Secret texts cast light on UK's early role in Trump-Russia inquiry"

Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Nick Hopkins are back in The Guardian.

theguardian.com/us-news/2019/j…

"Two of the most senior intelligence officials in the US and UK privately shared concerns about 'our strange situation' as the FBI launched its 2016 investigation into whether Donald Trump's campaign was colluding with Russia, the Guardian has learned."

"Text messages between Andrew McCabe, the deputy director of the FBI at the time, and Jeremy Fleming, his then counterpart at MI5, now the head of GCHQ, also reveal their mutual surprise at the result of the EU referendum."

"While Russia had previously been viewed as a country that would seek to interfere in western elections, the Brexit vote was viewed by some within the FBI as a sign that Russian activities had possibly been successful, the person said."

"In one exchange in August 2016, Fleming noted that members of the FBI and MI5 had 'met on our strange situation', a veiled reference to discussions about Russian activities, according to the source."

"The text messages between the two men were infrequent and cryptic and did not contain specific or sensitive materials, but occurred with some regularity after the referendum in June 2016."

"US and UK intelligence agencies frequently share information, but the exchanges between McCabe and Fleming appear to reflect a desire for a direct line of communication given what was seen as a developing problem on both sides of the Atlantic."

"In his text message about the August 2016 meeting, Fleming appeared to be making a reference to Peter Strzok, a senior FBI official who travelled to London that month to meet the Australian diplomat Alexander Downer."