Thread by @rgoodlaw, I just published:"Trump Pushed CIA to Give Intelligence to Kremlin, While Taking [...]

<thread>

I just published:

"Trump Pushed CIA to Give Intelligence to Kremlin, While Taking No Action Against Russia Arming Taliban"

Relying on interviews with several former Trump administration officials who spoke to me on the record. https://www.justsecurity.org/71279/trump-pushed-cia-to-give-intelligence-to-kremlin-while-taking-no-action-against-russia-arming-taliban/

Trump Pushed CIA to Give Intel to Russia as US Knew Putin Armed Taliban

Trump directed the CIA program while not backing up Pentagon in addressing concerns about Russia's arming the Taliban.

https://www.justsecurity.org/71279/trump-pushed-cia-to-give-intelligence-to-kremlin-while-taking-no-action-against-russia-arming-taliban/

2. Two important elements:

Trump directed CIA to share intelligence on counterterrorism with Kremlin despite no discernible reward (interviews with @Mpolymer @douglaslondon5)

At same time, he failed to back up Pentagon in addressing concerns about Russia's arming Taliban.

3. As @attackerman reported in 2017, Flynn tried to push Pentagon to cooperate with Russia, but ran into a roadblock:

Federal law bars mil-mil cooperation with Russia, and would require SecDef Mattis waiver.

No statute, however, bars CIA cooperation. https://www.thedailybeast.com/michael-flynn-had-a-plan-to-work-with-russias-military-it-wasnt-exactly-legal

Michael Flynn Had a Plan to Work With Russia’s Military. It Wasn’t Exactly Legal.

The former national security adviser had a long-standing desire to get closer to the Russians. One newly revealed step in the plan may have stepped beyond the bounds of the law.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/michael-flynn-had-a-plan-to-work-with-russias-military-it-wasnt-exactly-legal

You can follow @rgoodlaw.

Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: