A new New Yorker profile of Trump-Russia dossier author Christopher Steele reports on a lesser-known memo the former MI-6 spy allegedly discussed with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators. According to the report, in late November 2016, Steele relayed information from his Russian sources that senior Kremlin officials had intervened to block Mitt Romney as President-elect Trump’s choice for secretary of State. Reporter Jane Mayer writes that Moscow had asked Trump to appoint someone who would be willing to lift sanctions related to Ukraine and cooperate with Russia’s involvement in Syria.
Those on the right will immediately discount this simply because it came from Christopher Steele. They accept the propaganda that Steele was paid to make up a fake dossier on Trump. That is untrue. Steele was a trusted intelligence officer for a long time, and most of what was in his famous dossier has been proven to have been correct. Couldn't this information also be correct?
It is bolstered by the choice Trump finally did make to fill the office of Secretary of State -- Rex Tillerson, who is well-liked by Russia's Putin. He signed an oil deal with Russia worth many billions of dollars, and Russia awarded him the Order of Friendship (the highest award given to a foreigner). Russia got an American Secretary of State they considered to be a friend.
Did Russia have enough pull with Donald Trump to block the appointment of someone they didn't like and approve of someone they did like? It certainly looks like that could be the case. Add to this the fact that Trump tried to remove sanctions against Russia and return property seized from them by the U.S. government almost immediately after being sworn in (and was stopped only by Congress from doing so). Now has refused to impose new sanctions imposed on Russia by Congress. He also continues to deny Russian interference in the 2016 election, and has not ordered government officials to make sure the Russians don't interfere in future elections.
It all makes me wonder why Trump is so weak on Russia (and much harder on our traditional allies). What do the Russians have on him? Is it just the embarrassing "pee tape", or is it much darker (like money laundering through his businesses, or other monetary criminality)? Is it just a threat to call due the many millions loaned him by Russian banks -- a move that could destroy his business empire?
Whatever it is (and I do believe they have something on Trump), it seems to be pretty bad (at least in Trump's mind). It makes me wonder just who is calling the shots when it comes to U.S. policy on Russia -- Trump or Putin? I'm beginning to believe it is the latter -- and that we have a traitor living in the White House.