Updated
Updated · Daily Kos · Jul 4
Former KGB Spy Says Trump Served as Russian Asset for 40 Years
Updated
Updated · Daily Kos · Jul 4

Former KGB Spy Says Trump Served as Russian Asset for 40 Years

2 articles · Updated · Daily Kos · Jul 4

Summary

  • Yuri Shvets, a former KGB major, told the Guardian that Donald Trump was cultivated over more than 40 years as a Russian asset who echoed anti-Western propaganda.
  • Craig Unger’s new book “American Kompromat,” which cites Shvets as a key source, traces that effort to 1977 and says Soviet-bloc intelligence identified Trump as a promising target early in his business rise.
  • Shvets said a 1987 Moscow trip was pivotal: Trump was allegedly fed KGB talking points and flattered with suggestions he should enter politics.
  • The account also links Trump’s early business dealings to Soviet émigré Semyon Kislin and New York electronics store Joy-Lud, which Shvets said was KGB-controlled; Kislin denied KGB ties.
  • The allegations add to long-running scrutiny of Trump’s Russia connections, though the report presents claims from a former spy and a new book rather than official findings.

Insights

What psychological traits make powerful individuals targets for decades-long foreign intelligence cultivation?