U.S. Spies Reportedly Paid $100,000 To Russian Who Wanted To Sell Dirt on Trump

A new report from The New York Times exposed a financial transition between U.S. intel and a “shadowy” Russia regarding secrets about President Trump.

According to American and European intelligence officials, Americans spies reportedly paid $100,000 last year to a man who promised to “deliver stolen National Security Agency cyberweapons” as well as “compromising material” on Trump after months of secret negotiations.

The $100,000 was paid in cash in a suitcase in a Berlin hotel room back in September and was supposed to be the first installment of a $1 million payout. American officials told the NYT that the “theft of the secret hacking tools had been devastating to the N.S.A., and the agency was struggling to get a full inventory of what was missing.”

While the American spies desired the stolen NSA documents, they apparently said that they did not want the dirt on Trump because of the Russian’s “murky ties to Russian intelligence and to Eastern European cybercriminals.” The Russian reportedly had “unverified and possibly fabricated information” on Trump and associates.

The C.I.A. declined to comment on the story. However, the N.S.A. told the NYT that “all N.S.A. employees have a lifetime obligation to protect classified information.”

The Intercept reports that many involved in the “secret communications channel”  between the U.S. and the Russian are unaware of what actually transpired in the operation nor are they certain if the Russian was acting on his own or on behalf of the Russian government and if he was making an effort in the disinformation campaign that took place during the 2016 election.

[image via screengrab]