Some Russian Spies Expelled from US Were Reportedly Tracking Defectors and Their Families

Tamar AuberApr 25th, 2018, 6:32 pm
 

Russian spies tracking defectors were among those expelled from the United States last month, according to a new CNN report.

In March, President Donald Trump ordered the expulsion of a number of Russian diplomats in retaliation for a Cold War-esque poisoning of a former Russian spy in England.

Among that group of expelled Russian nationals, it seems, there were spies that were actually monitoring and seeking out Russian defectors.

In one case, one spy was hunting down an émigré on American soil who was part of a witness protection-type CIA program that provides thee with new identities. Other spies were thought to be tracking Russian nationals living in the United States deemed traitors.

The news set off alarm bells among intelligence and law enforcement officials, who told CNN the presence of Kremlin spies raises “concerns that the Russians were preparing to target Russian émigrés in the US labeled by the Kremlin as traitors or enemies.”

The latest report also comes just months after a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democratic staff document warned of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s silencing of critics, including those living abroad.

That report also called for President Trump to take prompt action to stop Russia’s interference.

“President Trump must be clear-eyed about the Russian threat, take action to strengthen our government’s response and our institutions, and – as have other president’s in times of crisis – mobilize our country and work with an international coalition to counter the threat and assert our values,” Sen. Ben Cardin said.

He added in the Senate Foreign Relations report, “it is imperative that the American people better understand the true scope and scale of Putin’s pattern of undermining democracy in Russia and across Europe.”

[image via screengrab]

 

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