Posted on 08/08/2017 9:12:14 AM PDT by ckilmer
Cover Lifted, A CIA Spy Offers His Take On Trump And Russia
August 8, 20177:50 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
Mary Louise Kelly 2010
MARY LOUISE KELLY
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Retired CIA station chief Daniel Hoffman says Russia intended for Donald Trump Jr.'s June 2016 meeting with Russians to be discovered.
Mary Louise Kelly/NPR
On a steamy August afternoon in McLean, Va., not far from CIA headquarters, Daniel Hoffman sits on a coffee shop terrace and reminisces about summer afternoons spent in a different place.
"There's a tennis court, and a little dacha with a sauna," says Hoffman. "And then a big dacha where families could go and get out of the city in the summer and relax."
"The city" is Moscow, and Hoffman is talking about a U.S. diplomatic compound in its suburbs. One of two facilities that Russia just announced it's seizing. This, as President Vladimir Putin demands the U.S. cut 755 staff from its embassy and consulates.
Hoffman is a three-time CIA station chief who spent a total of five years in Moscow. Recently retired, his cover is now lifted. As he sips a cup of green tea, Hoffman shares some thoughts about the ongoing Russia drama.
He says the upcoming expulsions won't have much impact on U.S. spy efforts — because the U.S. gets to decide who leaves.
The greater impact, says Hoffman, may be on Russia's spies, including the FSB, the successor agency to the KGB. Because it'll mostly be local, Russian staff that gets cut.
"My estimation," Hoffman says, "was always that no Russian would ever get a job at an American official installation if they were not reporting to the FSB [Federal Security Service]. So they're the FSB's eyes and ears."
But Hoffman says Putin had no choice, given the U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia for its alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign. "He needed to respond to impose some level of reciprocity on the action that we took."
Still, Hoffman says — Putin does stand to benefit.
"He will generate a lot of discussion," Hoffman says, "among different agencies at the embassy and probably some angst among those who are on the losing end of having their people remain in Moscow, whether Americans or Russians.
"And of course Russian intelligence services are very good at collecting on that sort of information."
Russia and the campaign
Hoffman's long experience observing Russian spies at work leads to a surprising conclusion about one of the most sensational revelations from last year's election: that Trump Tower meeting in June 2016. The one attended by Donald Trump Jr., Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, campaign manager Paul Manafort — and Kremlin-connected Russians.
"To me," Hoffman says, "it pointed to a discoverable influence operation rather than some effort to establish a clandestine channel for collusion."
Both in NPR's interview and in an op-ed for The New York Times, Hoffman argues the meeting was meant to be discovered, that Putin deliberately left a trail of breadcrumbs from Trump Tower to the Kremlin.
And that the objective was simple: to soil the U.S. political process and undermine the credibility of the 2016 election.
Some other intelligence veterans disagree. But that is what former CIA station chief Daniel Hoffman sees.
Here's what he doesn't see: "Overall I haven't seen any evidence of anyone actually colluding with the Russians," Hoffman says, "of Russian intelligence colluding with a campaign to cause harm to another."
Instead, Hoffman believes the Trump Tower meeting is significant mostly for what it reveals about Russia's motives and tactics.
The Steele dossier
And what of the unverified set of allegations about Trump-Russia contacts, compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele? Hoffman suggests the intelligence apparatus may have been at work there, too.
"One possible explanation for the content was that Russian intelligence was aware that the dossier was being written," says Hoffman. "And that they fed not only true information — but untrue information as well. Which is their regular modus operandi for covert influence operations."
In other words, Hoffman believes Russia may have seeded the Steele dossier.
But when asked the bottom-line question — Does he believe Russia has dirt on President Trump? — Hoffman pauses before answering. An uncharacteristically lengthy pause.
"The way I would answer that question is that Russian intelligence collects information on their own people," he says. "They focus to a great extent on us at the American Embassy, to collect information on us. They seek to understand [as they say in Russian] what makes us breathe.
"That's really what they want to know."
So would Russian spies seek to understand what makes Trump breathe, what makes him tick?
Sure, says Hoffman. Though he insists he doesn't know whether Russia has compromising material on Trump. The president himself has dismissed the dossier as "fake news."
Meanwhile Hoffman, who left the CIA in February, sees no sign Russian spy efforts are slowing. Every American official is a target, he says.
"I should know. I was one of them."
Russia is in the process of a major comeback. The last thing that they need or want is a strong US military. So why on Earth would they have preferred a strong-on-defense team like Trump-Pence over a very weak democrat one. In fact, Obama bent over backwards appeasing the Russians on nukes and missile defense. Meanwhile, he practically crippled our military. And Hillary expressed zero concerns over the state of our military. She would have continued weakening it. That plus her handing the Russians 20% of our uranium production, via the much overlooked Uranium-One scandal.
Confirmation that the Russia story is a nothing-burger.
The more I read, the more I think Russia’s real objective was to was to create turmoil in the US Government, regardless of who won. If so, the Democrats (& RHINOs) have sure helped them achieve that objective.
The CIA is no more trustworthy than the next door neighborhood gossip.
PBS is scum. They should be stripped of every single penny that comes from taxpayers. This statement above is classic.
They can't come out and say there is or isn't any dirt on Trump.
But they sure would like you, as a reader, to assume there is from the "uncharacteristically lengthy pause".
I despise and detest PBS, NPR, etc. and all they stand for. The fact they even get 1/100,000th of a penny from my pocket galls me.
The media knows the people have moved on from the false ruskies narrative and this is their way of directing the dems away from the story..
The Russians at the meeting worked for Fusion GPS, a DNC contractor. So, yes, DNC knew about the meeting. It was in the file to be exposed at a time of their choosing.
Does he believe Russia has dirt on President Trump?
What do the Saudis have on who?
“The CIA is no more trustworthy than the next door neighborhood gossip.”
Most of the time our next door gossiping neighbor will not shoot you several times in the back of your head and get the local LEO’s to call it a suicide.
I find it interesting that Russia’s GDP is so close to that of Mexico:
8 Italy 1,815,757
9 Brazil 1,772,589
10 Canada 1,552,386
11 South Korea 1,376,868
12 Russia 1,324,734
13 Australia 1,223,887
14 Spain 1,199,715
15 Mexico 1,144,334
I’m reasonably sure that the CIA should be Phoenixed.
NPR and CIA makes this another nothing burger fake news piece trying to weaken our president.
If Trump defunds NPR and uses an Executive Order to disband the CIA, this bs will stop.
Truman founded the CIA, with an Executive Order: He didn’t trust the OSS after WWII, so he disbanded them and created the CIA with his Executive Order.
Shortly, before JFK was killed, JFK, apparently wanted to limit the CIA to Intel collection.
HST wrote this shortly after JFK was killed:
HST founded the CIA, and he realized his creation had become something he didn’t want and had became what/ why he ended the OSS after WWII was over
Harry Truman Writes after JFK was killed:
Limit CIA Role (To Intelligence collection)
By Harry S Truman, INDEPENDENCE, MO., Dec. 21 1963
http://www.maebrussell.com/Prouty/Harry%20Truman’s%20CIA%20article.html
So, a simple EXO by President Trump ending Truman’s EXO to end the OSS and to start the CIA, can eliminate the CIA.
I AGREE
Agree with a lot of your points. However, this particular article seems to favor Trump. Which is surprising for all the reasons you cite. Because it is NPR.
“...But when asked the bottom-line question — Does he believe Russia has dirt on President Trump? — Hoffman pauses before answering. An uncharacteristically lengthy pause...”
......
The CIA operative knew the question was a political question so he dodged it. However, all his previous more detailed questions show that he believes the case against Trump is a fraud.
This has such a spy novel cloak-and-dagger air about it that it brings the whole ludicrous Valerie Plame thing back to mind.
Thanks for the feedback.
Whenever I/we see/read NPR or CIA by themselves in a so called news article, we/I know it is fake news.
Add both of them together for a really toxic brew.
"The way I would answer that question is that Russian intelligence collects information on their own people," he says. "They focus to a great extent on us at the American Embassy, to collect information on us. They seek to understand [as they say in Russian] what makes us breathe.
"That's really what they want to know."
Sure, says Hoffman.
Russians already knew what made Hillary and Bernie breath... had all the 'goods' on those two... Hillary or Bernie being elected would have been more 'comforting' to the Russians for that reason alone. Trump was an unknown - someone they knew so little about and who came across as unpredictable - he's not a logical choice for Russians to back. Even if they did like him better... and if the Russian people liked him better - waaay too unpredictable.
You raise an very valid point re Russia’s GNP.
What country has meddled in American Politics 24/7 since Ike, and tried to influence who we elected as president last year?
Mexico!
Which country has millions of illegals in America doing great economic and security damage to America every day?
Mexico!
Which country has been more dangerous to Americans every day for decades?
Mexico!
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