Intel chiefs presented Trump with claims of Russian efforts to compromise him
By Evan Perez, Jim Sciutto, Jake Tapper and Carl Bernstein, CNN
(CNN)Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.
The allegations were presented in a two-page synopsis that was appended to a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The allegations came, in part, from memos compiled by a former British intelligence operative, whose past work US intelligence officials consider credible. The FBI is investigating the credibility and accuracy of these allegations, which are based primarily on information from Russian sources, but has not confirmed many essential details in the memos about Mr. Trump.
The classified briefings last week were presented by four of the senior-most US intelligence chiefs — Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, FBI Director James Comey, CIA Director John Brennan, and NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers.
One reason the nation’s intelligence chiefs took the extraordinary step of including the synopsis in the briefing documents was to make the President-elect aware that such allegations involving him are circulating among intelligence agencies, senior members of Congress and other government officials in Washington, multiple sources tell CNN.
These senior intelligence officials also included the synopsis to demonstrate that Russia had compiled information potentially harmful to both political parties, but only released information damaging to Hillary Clinton and Democrats. This synopsis was not an official part of the report from the intelligence community case about Russian hacks, but some officials said it augmented the evidence that Moscow intended to harm Clinton’s candidacy and help Trump’s, several officials with knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.
The two-page synopsis also included allegations that there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government, according to two national security officials.
Sources tell CNN that these same allegations about communications between the Trump campaign and the Russians, mentioned in classified briefings for congressional leaders last year, prompted then-Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid to send a letter to FBI Director Comey in October, in which he wrote, “It has become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisors, and the Russian government — a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States.”
CNN has confirmed that the synopsis was included in the documents that were presented to Mr. Trump but cannot confirm if it was discussed in his meeting with the intelligence chiefs.
The Trump transition team declined repeated requests for comment.
CNN has reviewed a 35-page compilation of the memos, from which the two-page synopsis was drawn. The memos originated as opposition research, first commissioned by anti-Trump Republicans, and later by Democrats. At this point, CNN is not reporting on details of the memos, as it has not independently corroborated the specific allegations. But, in preparing this story, CNN has spoken to multiple high ranking intelligence, administration, congressional and law enforcement officials, as well as foreign officials and others in the private sector with direct knowledge of the memos.
Some of the memos were circulating as far back as last summer. What has changed since then is that US intelligence agencies have now checked out the former British intelligence operative and his vast network throughout Europe and find him and his sources to be credible enough to include some of the information in the presentations to the President and President-elect a few days ago.
On the same day that the President-elect was briefed by the intelligence community, the top four Congressional leaders, and chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees — the so-called “Gang of Eight” — were also provided a summary of the memos regarding Mr. Trump, according to law enforcement, intelligence and administration sources.
The two-page summary was written without the detailed specifics and information about sources and methods included in the memos by the former British intelligence official. That said, the synopsis was considered so sensitive it was not included in the classified report about Russian hacking that was more widely distributed, but rather in an annex only shared at the most senior levels of the government: President Obama, the President-elect, and the eight Congressional leaders.
CNN has also learned that on December 9, Senator John McCain gave a full copy of the memos — dated from June through December, 2016 — to FBI Director James Comey. McCain became aware of the memos from a former British diplomat who had been posted in Moscow. But the FBI had already been given a set of the memos compiled up to August 2016, when the former MI6 agent presented them to an FBI official in Rome, according to national security officials.
The raw memos on which the synopsis is based were prepared by the former MI6 agent, who was posted in Russia in the 1990s and now runs a private intelligence gathering firm. His investigations related to Mr. Trump were initially funded by groups and donors supporting Republican opponents of Mr. Trump during the GOP primaries, multiple sources confirmed to CNN. Those sources also said that once Mr. Trump became the nominee, further investigation was funded by groups and donors supporting Hillary Clinton.
Spokespeople for the FBI and the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment. Officials who spoke to CNN declined to do so on the record given the classified nature of the material.
Some of the allegations were first reported publicly in Mother Jones one week before the election.
One high level administration official told CNN, “I have a sense the outgoing administration and intelligence community is setting down the pieces so this must be investigated seriously and run down. I think [the] concern was to be sure that whatever information was out there is put into the system so it is evaluated as it should be and acted upon as necessary.”
WE TOLD UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Met, he had knowledge of this before and during. Hence, him ability to downplay the intel as nothing.
Haa a child not a soul played the “i don’t know” or “no it don’t go like that” like the guily stone flingga :ngakak
pppppppppppppppppppppppppppp mi want him ketch a heart attack..we knew all along that he was planning and on with them..TREASON
Treason in the highest order! And one of a rare/unique nature.
The U.S. military should arrest him on inarguration day! He’s planning a modern style of a coup on U.S. soil. Patriotic conservatives too bias to notice. Me n u a outsiders so we see different.
Him and him lawyer a deny bout him neva go Prague but u dont have no immigration stamp for Prague so there is no way him can put up him passport as proof..People believe the report especially di piss part
Met you probably should have wait a little bit! there are many many many more to come out by tomorrow or by the end of the week! talking about picking on poor so called illegal immigrants, the state department needs to revoke his mail order doll’s citezenship on national security grounds!
Buzzfeed dash out di report 35 pages
For those who want to read here
https://www.buzzfeed.com/kenbensinger/these-reports-allege-trump-has-deep-ties-to-russia?utm_term=.gxyV8n78j#.yjeNYmPYy
Russia has been training trump for years for this..He will not go in that whitehouse!
Dem seh dem have info pan trump sexual perversions!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes gawd
I said it on a topic posted on gmt pinkwall couple of weeks ago that vladimir putun is very grimey, he has no loyalty to anyone except russia’s and his own interests, the only people he confide in is germany angel merkle who was working in the stazi in east germany when putun was in the kgb in east germany and they knew each other from then and the former italian communist prime minister I think his name is monti, those 2 people are putun’s only confidante outside the box so I don’t know what donald-duck believes, was or is thinking, putun send his own kgb/fsb operatives to plant bombs in apartment buildings in moscow, blow up the apartments and kill hundreds of his own people then pin it on so called terrorist in cechnya to give him a justifiable reason to go back into cechnya to finish what the russian army couldn’t in 1995, the kgb operative who gave the information to the famed journalist ana polikovskaya was poisoned in london by putun’s henchmen, any polikovskaya was assassinated before she was able to blow up the story and with overwhelming evidence implicate putun, donald-duck, mitch mcconnell and the rest of them are all traitors that need to be hanged by their teeth.
MET A TOLD YOU TRUMP WILL NOT LAST A YEAR IN THE WHITE HOUSE NO STROKE YET NATIONAL DISGRACE THEN STROKE . HA HA YOU THINK RUSSIA EASY HE FORGOT TO READ HIS HISTORY BOOKS ‘ GOING TO LET TRUMP SHIT GREASE WAIT WATCH AND SEE .
U nuh si di man hate obama so much go him go a russia go stay ina di hotel and defile di bed whey him claims di obamas sleep pan..
Mi seh it sweeeeet mi suhhhh telllll yes lawwwddddd I knew it dutty chump u karma a Cum bite u inna u itsy bitsy teeny weeny buddy.
Why is mainstream media not following this??? head scratch….just one or two hits….this is strange.
Cause Isrealis and murdock a bury de story dem.
Di goat a kill and curry dung tinite. A drinking celebration champagne all fckn weekend long. Who a cook di rice? Who a bring di white rum?
Who a hire de grave diggers and mournful singers?
:ngakak :ngakak
Met, dem fi tie him bloidclaat out like Nebuchadnezzar. Is right now di investigation pon him tax evation fi buss, lick him rass every which way and knock him disgusting ass dung like bowling pin.
It’s all over CNN no matter how they trying to pretty it up . Fox News shame shame.
Shame like a dead dogggggggggggggggggggggggggg
They all dislike Obama because he is black
If a “Ni**$r” can become president, why can’t he
Met if you have any free time can you post literature on Blackstone Bayrock
Trump want to be Obama so much he resorted to the hate tactic to get likes from his minions. Trump nuh understand that his minions don’t like him fi him but fi the hate him spill. Atleast Obama have a genuine love from the people.Trump is the emperor with his new clothes that in truth he is really naked.
I have to watch this one like I watch the election #ponthetoilet.
He’ll deny, deny, deny. They would have to come with recordings, videos because paper alone is not going to make these Trumpers believe. They cant wait to make America great again…sigh.
Yuh nuh si John Mccain never acknowledge him yet…a him blow di whistle so he can say is lie all he want they have him just where they want him and his ass has been handed to him by the CIA
Every single thing in the report makes sense..and the FBI did not admit today but they did admit prior that there is an ONGOING investigation. MCcain was the main one pushing for the report to be made public ..Moscow did admit to being in contact with the trump team right after the election..What beats me is how big bad and bold Putin fraid a Hillary so dem a prime trump for the past 5 years a feed him info and him a feed dem back with info..
CNN IS CONTROLLED AND FINANCED BY CERTAIN UNSCRUPULOUS INDIVIDUALS, they fool the people continually with lies lies lies… Just in a while all those corrupt bastards will be in prison and out of a job…
Trump + Putin = World Peace…
Clinton = world war..
When you understand that then things will be better…
MCcain is one of the most dangerous and evil man on this planet earth, that’s all am gonna say…
…..and believe me it aint over yet, its just the beginning, there is a massive piece thats gonna blow up later down the stretch and this piece is coming from the asia, including the middle east, I gave a little hint about a week ago but I will not divulge on the specifics, Ms Met I’d say wait untill this one blows up because you don’t want any intelligence service come sabotage your site or worst assassinate you and me so wait till the media or your source blow it out :2thumbup even though the (☆) intelligence services and media might supress this one :tkp
Dat Mi Seh!…… hiding behind the pseudonym anonymous, did you read what I wrote above about putun killing his own people to persue his personal agendas, how the hell can someone who kills his own people be a vehicle for world peace, and I also noticed you haven’t DENIED what I mentioned because you know damn well its FACTS, putun is no different from the other world leaders, curruption, personal interest etc. the only difference is where putun and russia stands or on whose side he is on or what stance he takes in a conflict, at the end of the day the objective is the same, SELF INTEREST, PERSONAL GAINS, DON’T THINK FOR ONE BIT THAT PUTUN IS INVOLVED IN THE SYRIAN CONFLICT TO HELP DEFEAT ISIS OR BECAUSE HE MEANT SYRIA AND BASHIR ASSAD ANY GOOD, ITS ALL PERSONAL INTEREST AND GAINS, MOST LIKELY FINANCIAL, WHEN THIS SMOKE CLEARS, SYRIA WILL MOST LIKELY BE INDEBTED TO RUSSIA FOR ANOTER 1000 YEARS and I didn’t mistype an extra zero, 1000 years.