What’s in that report circulating about Trump? While much of the attention that’s going to be generated by this report will focus on the disgusting nature of the “kompromat” the Russians generated on Trump, the really shocking item? What the Russians asked of Trump.
They wanted Trump to weaken the US position on the Ukraine, and that’s exactly the single issue on which Trump intervened to change the Republican platform.
Trump staffers in the room, who are not delegates but are there to oversee the process, intervened. By working with pro-Trump delegates, they were able to get the issue tabled while they devised a method to roll back the language.
Those staffers said they were talking “directly to Trump” in making those changes.
The other request from Russia, that Trump weaken NATO’s role in the Baltics?
When Donald J. Trump was asked on Wednesday whether, if elected president, he would defend the Baltic nations against a hypothetical Russian attack, his answer was, essentially: It depends.
If the information has been in government hands for months, it’s done a remarkable job of predicting Trump’s actions—and may be the only explanation for a series of Trump’s actions that otherwise seem baffling.
The information that’s now spilling out on the 'compromising information' that the Russians have on Trump is chiefly being sourced from a former British operative. But at least some of the information that the Trump campaign was in continuous contact with the Russian government may have a much more direct source.
The Guardian has learned that the FBI applied for a warrant from the foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court over the summer in order to monitor four members of the Trump team suspected of irregular contacts with Russian officials.
The FISA Court has a record of approving 99% of applications. But this time, the FBI was turned away.
The Fisa court turned down the application asking FBI counter-intelligence investigators to narrow its focus. According to one report, the FBI was finally granted a warrant in October, but that has not been confirmed, and it is not clear whether any warrant led to a full investigation.