this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2025
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586
Former intelligence officer claims KGB recruited Trump (www.thedailybeast.com)
submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world
76 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Summary

Former Kazakh intelligence chief Alnur Mussayev alleges that the KGB recruited Donald Trump in 1987 under the codename “Krasnov.”

In a Facebook post, Mussayev claimed that the KGB targeted Western businessmen and that Trump’s file is now privately controlled by a Putin associate.

Though unverified, the claims fuel speculation about Trump’s ties to Russia, which he has denied.

Concerns about Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin persist, with former officials like Anthony Scaramucci suggesting an unexplained “hold” on him but offering no further details.

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[–] Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world 200 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Trump is a Russian asset. This has been known for years.

Our alphabet soup (FBI, CIA, NSA, etc.) have far more information about this than the general public. This has been known for years.

His base does not care. This has also been known for years.

Congress, who has the power to impeach and remove a Russian asset sitting in the Oval Office, will do exactly nothing about it. This has also been known for years.

In other words: We know, nobody cares, it doesn't matter. Nobody's going to do anything about it.

[–] electricyarn@lemmy.world 85 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

It does seem odd that the intelligence community seems to have been totally compromised. You'd think the cia, who has done quite a few coups themselves would have seen this coming and done something about it.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 40 points 3 weeks ago

To be fair the CIA and FBI, like all other law enforcement, has spent literal decades training their agents to view US citizens as "the enemy."

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 26 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

They have simply have no way to wrap their heads around the idea of doing anything about it. The CIA was created as a weapon for the government to point at their enemies. They don't know how to respond when that government is the enemy.

[–] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 18 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Sure they do. They just don't want to because they're complicit in it happening.

[–] gdog05@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago

They have always worked for the oligarchs. And the oligarchs are either in on this as well or find it useful.

[–] captainWhatsHisName@lemm.ee 18 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

The Manchurian Candidate came out in 1959 and was made a movie in 1962. I guarantee that the people who do game theory about coups and nuclear war have thought about a willing or unwilling traitor in power. It’s one of the most confusing things about all this that they haven’t done anything to stop it.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

If they managed to kill JFK, you’d think they could kill this douchebag.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Where’s Bush Sr when you need him

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[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 9 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I guarantee that the people who do game theory about coups and nuclear war have thought about a willing or unwilling traitor in power. It’s one of the most confusing things about all this that they haven’t done anything to stop it.

My take is that whatever plans exist (and I agree they must) for this situation were designed to come into play only when a very specific set of criteria had been met, and that because any such plan would necessarily be very extreme, the designers of the plan codified that no matter how bad things got, it would require ALL those criteria to be met before it could be lawfully executed.

I believe we haven't checked all the boxes yet.

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[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 24 points 3 weeks ago

Congress, who has the power to impeach and remove a Russian asset sitting in the Oval Office,

they tried repeatedly, but republican shitbird turncoat traitors protected him.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

I get that you're saying this out of frustration, and it's true. But it doesn't help. We need people like this to come forward. We need to beat this drum enough that even some of the idiot Trump supporters get it.

The most important thing is that he still has something like 45% public support. Until that number drops, we're stuck with this. If this can help chip away at that 45% then it's more than welcome.

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 101 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I think we can see that pretty clearly considering the sudden love for Russia throughout our entire administration and pulling out of Ukraine, the best value for our military spending in decades.

On the other end, my fellow citizens are extremely stupid too.

[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 77 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It's not 'sudden.'

Trump Tower has been selling luxury housing the Russians for decades.

Story from 2017

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-trump-property/

[–] thallamabond@lemmy.world 54 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 22 points 3 weeks ago

Truth Is Stupider Than Fiction Dept.

The Travis McGee novels from John D. MacDonald are still in print. "A Deadly Shade Of Gold" was released in 1965. Travis is a Florida beach bum and unlicensed investigator. When an old friend pops up and is then brutally murdered, Travis begins to investigate.

One of the characters in this romp is a California millionaire. He inherited his money and is now working hand in glove with the KGB for 'kicks.'

A pulp fiction writer came up with the adult Donald Trump while the real one was still huffing airplane glue.

[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 86 points 3 weeks ago (9 children)

I'm always skeptical of claims like this. Don't get me wrong, Trump is actively working to advance the Russian agenda, and Russia has actively supported him financially and through propaganda. But I'm wary of tales of kompromat or clandestine, decades long KGB plots.

Occam's razor, I think Trump is a piece of shit that would destroy his own country to make a quick buck, and Putin offered him a quick buck. Honestly, elaborate Manchurian Candidate conspiracies would probably be less scary than the idea that our entire democracy can collapse because one real-estate conman was willing to sell us all out.

[–] EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone 25 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, I don't think it's some long-running scheme to get Trump into power or whatever. More that he happened to be the right idiot on the payroll when the shit hit the fan.

Trump's ties to Russia have been known forever. The FBI has been trying to pin him for his ties to Russian crime organizations for decades, with all the "gifts" of yachts and planes that they've given him and all the real estate that they own in Trump Towers and the like.

I think he just happened to be there when all the greed and flaws in our system finally broke under the weight of actual schemes to foster extremism in the population for various reasons and the short-sightedness of corporate interests looking to wring the country dry.

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 21 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

He has almost no filter and I think if he was a secret KGB operative, that would not be a secret by now because it would have just come out at random at some point.

He's extremely malleable, loves rich people and authoritarians, and will agree with almost anyone who kisses his ass. So it's pretty easy for Putin to just wrap him around his little finger.

[–] secretlyaddictedtolinux@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Sometimes pretending to be too socially stupid to be deceptive has advantages. This seems naive.

[–] Mog_fanatic@lemmy.world 16 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

With most things like this, I truly, honestly think the man is just too dumb to carry out what he's accused of. Now, stupidity is absolutely not an excuse to get you out of the dumb shit you've done (in fact, it now seems to be a prerequisite for his position along with being incredibly wealthy and comically old), but I don't think he's behind a lot of these elaborate plans he's accused of.

I think at the end of the day, he's just a very old, very rich, incredibly gullible and dumb man who is very easily controlled by those around him.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 14 points 3 weeks ago

He's not the one behind the elaborate plans. That's Putin.

I followed r/ the_donald when it first started. It was a joke, and rightfully so. It was fun. However, when anyone tried to call it out as the joke it was, they'd be banned within seconds. Any time of day. Those aren't volunteer moderators.

I assume similar schemes were happening on Facebook and other social media. Honestly it was a master class in modern propaganda. I expected more research papers covering it by now.

They picked the horse. The horse didn't pick them.

You'll notice they love to fall back on this "just a joke" thing. It's a theme. Like when you've ironically used the word "rizz" enough that it's no longer ironic. That's what they're going for.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Was it Eric that said Russia pays for everything?

E: It was, someone else provided the quote

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[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 6 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Probably the KGB had lot of people, because survivorship bias we don't know about the great majority of them

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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

So what would be the difference between Trumps current behavior in destroying the US "just so" and "because he is an official GRU employee"? He is a traitor, and should be dealt with accordingly. Remember: All enemies foreign and domestic.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

There is no difference in that sense. That doesn't mean the truth is fungible.

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[–] samus12345@lemm.ee 66 points 3 weeks ago

the claims fuel speculation about Trump’s ties to Russia, which he has denied.

“We don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.”

-Eric Trump

[–] American_Jesus@lemm.ee 41 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

In the 60's someone with ties to KGB would be arrested (and death sentence) for treason, now it can be president and no one does anything

[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago (13 children)

It’s worst than that.

Not only no one does anything but the majority of American voters voted for the guy.

[–] Makeitstop@lemmy.world 24 points 3 weeks ago

A plurality, not a majority.

He may only have been short of the majority by a fraction of a percent, but no sense in giving him any more credit than is due or contributing to the myth of a mandate.

[–] American_Jesus@lemm.ee 10 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Spanish and pro-Palestine people voted for him, the same ones getting deported and shocked for no giving a fuck about Gaza.

It's like jews voting for Hitler, after him repeatedly said that they are the problem

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[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 38 points 3 weeks ago

Donnie Jr. publicly boasted that the Russian banks loved his daddy.

[–] shittydwarf@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 3 weeks ago

It was pretty widely known in the intelligence community that Trump was compromised, yet here we are

[–] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 23 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

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[–] jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 19 points 3 weeks ago

Either that, or doing everything exactly like he would be doing if he were.

[–] secretlyaddictedtolinux@lemmy.world 19 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

page suddenly gone

[–] Saryn@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

They removed the article? Anyone know why?

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[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 14 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Isn’t it known that Melania is his handler?

[–] kmartburrito@lemmy.world 23 points 3 weeks ago

Yes but she's only trained to handle small packages.

For the larger work efforts there is someone else appointed.

[–] Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago

That's mostly the problem, it is all "known" just by being obvious, no actual proof. But you'd think being obvious would at least be enough to prevent him from getting elected, lol. Hell, at this point, I'm not even sure if proof would have done the trick...

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Thanks, most of us figured that out in ~2018

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Unfortunately it wasn't most of us.

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[–] Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

There were several (3 or 4) reddit posts about this yesterday that rose to the top or r/all yesterday. After a few hours they were removed/deleted.

News sites they linked to (non reddit) were also removed, "page not found".

Very conspiracy theory suspicious.

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