Kurt Eichenwald writes today that US allies in Western Europe have been conducting intelligence operations against the US for months:
Sources said the interceptions include at least one contact between former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and a Russian official based in the United States….The sources said the intercepted communications are not just limited to telephone calls: The foreign agency is also gathering electronic and human source information on Trump’s overseas business partners, at least some of whom the intelligence services now consider to be agents of their respective governments.
Moreover, a Baltic nation is gathering intelligence on officials in the Trump White House and executives with the president’s company, the Trump Organization, out of concern that an American policy shift toward Russia could endanger its sovereignty, according to a third person with direct ties to that nation’s government.
….These operations reflect a serious breakdown in the long-standing faith in the direction of American policy by some of the country’s most important allies. Worse, the United States is now in a situation that may be unprecedented—where European governments know more about what is going on in the executive branch than any elected American official….The information gathered by the Western European government has been widely shared among the NATO allies, although it is not clear how much has been provided to American intelligence officials.
Is this true? Who knows anymore? As with so many other stories these days, it’s remarkable enough just that it’s taken seriously.
