<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/

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