The Times has matched the Intercept's report about the U.S. wanting to buy the stolen NSA files from a Russian operative: nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/…
Among the new details: "The NSA even used its official Twitter account nearly a dozen times to send coded messages to the Russian."
Among the new details: "The NSA even used its official Twitter account nearly a dozen times to send coded messages to the Russian."
Here is the section of the story that explains how the Russian operative promised to turn over the stolen NSA files but then actually turned over files about Trump and the 2016 election. 
The Russian operative said he had access to both stolen NSA and CIA files and "a video of Mr. Trump consorting with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room in 2013."
His desire to sell the video "raised suspicions" that he was trying to pit the IC against Trump on behalf of Russia.
His desire to sell the video "raised suspicions" that he was trying to pit the IC against Trump on behalf of Russia.
If this really all started with the NSA wanting to see how badly it had been pwned and now it's going to become a whole Thing vis-a-vis Trump/Russia, my mind boggles.
"The Russians are also particularly eager to cast doubt on the federal and congressional investigations into the Russian meddling, American intelligence officials said."
Every overture from a Russian operative must be viewed through this lens.
Every overture from a Russian operative must be viewed through this lens.
Nothing would please Moscow more than for Trump to get mad at the IC after reading this story because he thought that his own spies were trying to acquire kompromat on him.
Never mind that they *weren't* trying to buy kompromat (they were trying to buy the stolen NSA files). Moscow wants Trump to start thinking, "Well, hmmm, maybe they CLAIMED this was about the NSA files but they're really trying to undermine me...I can't trust these people..."
