The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Trump told that Russia may have damaging information on him
Intelligence chiefs brief president-elect, Obama on unconfirmed claims.
A classified report delivered to President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump last week included a section summarizing allegations that Russian intelligence services have compromising material and information on Trump’s personal life and finances, U.S. officials said.
The officials said U.S. intelligence agencies have not corroborated those allegations, but believed that the sources involved in the reporting were credible enough to warrant inclusion of their claims in the highly classified report on Russian interference in the presidential campaign.
In an apparent response to the reports late Tuesday, Trump called the allegations “fake news” and “a total political witch hunt.”
A senior U.S. official with access to the document said the allegations were presented at
least in part to underscore that Russia had embarrassing information on both major candidates, but only released material that might harm Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton — a reflection of Russian motivation that bolstered U.S. spy agencies’ conclusion that Moscow sought to help Trump win.
The inclusion of such unsubstantiated allegations in the election report, a development first reported Tuesday by CNN, adds a disturbing new dimension to existing concerns about Russia’s efforts to undermine American democracy.
If true, the information suggests that Moscow has assembled damaging information — known in espionage circles by the Russian term “kompromat” — that conceivably could be used to coerce the next occupant of the White House.
The claims were presented in a two-page summary attached to the full report, an addendum that also included allegations of ongoing contact between members of Trump’s inner circle and representatives of Moscow.
U.S. officials said the claims about Russian possession of compromising material were based not on information through traditional intelligence channels but research done by an outside entity engaged in political consulting work and led by a former high-ranking British intelligence official.
The material was first mentioned in a Mother Jones report in October.
U.S. officials said that while the FBI had so far not confirmed the accuracy of the claims, U.S. officials had evaluated the sources relied upon by the private firm, considered them credible, and determined that it was plausible that they would have first-hand knowledge of Russia’s alleged dossier on Trump.
The CIA, the FBI and the White House declined to comment on the matter.
K.T. McFarland, Trump’s designated deputy foreign service adviser, also declined to respond to a question about the report.
“I don’t know about the story that you’re talking about that’s broken. I don’t think it’s appropriate ... I know in Washington people prefer to talk about something about which they know nothing, but I’m going to refrain,” she said during participation in a panel at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
“I’m not going to say what Donald Trump thinks about the election and what involvement the Russians had. I think I’d just say what (Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr.) said, which is that nothing the Russians did had any effect on the outcome.”
Clapper, however, testified that the report never attempted to assess what effect the Russian intervention had on the election result.
The two-page summary was attached to the most highly classified of three separate versions of the report on Russian election interference that were circulated in Washington last week, including an abbreviated declassifed draft that was made public.
It was unclear whether the claims in the summary were even considered by FBI, CIA and DNI analysts who were responsible for the main body of the report, or whether the information from the outside group had any influence on those analysts’ conclusions.
Senior lawmakers who were briefed on the most classified version of the report declined to comment.
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a member of the Trump transition team, said that “we can’t comment on what goes on in” classified briefings, but added that the idea that Moscow would seek to gather incendiary material on U.S. leaders “should not be a surprise to anyone.”
“The Russians are always looking for dirt on any politician,” Nunes said. “That wouldn’t be news.”
Asked whether he was aware of any contacts between the Trump team and Russia, Nunes said, “No. I found that hard to believe. I have not heard that. News to me.”
If true, the information suggests that Moscow has assembled damaging information — known in espionage circles by the Russian term ‘kompromat’ — that conceivably could be used to coerce the next occupant of the White House.