re: #64 blueraven

Nichols can be a real Ass, but on Russia, I want to hear him.

[Embedded content]

Not sure if I buy this:

Nevertheless, Kalugin allowed that if the FSB and GRU were responsible and Putin was now sitting on crucial information about various GOP officials, it would be reckless and dangerous to try and blackmail the White House directly. High-level officials, such as cabinet secretaries, have rarely been cultivated as spies or informants of Moscow, owing to what Kalugin characterizes as “potential repercussions.”

Middle and lower-cadre officials in the State Department or military-industrial complex are deemed easier and better marks for the spooks.

In this hypothetical, a heretofore semi-anonymous RNC staffer who may have written something professionally or personally damaging to himself is likelier to find himself approached by a Russian operative and offered a chance to switch sides than a member of the National Security Council.

“Just one man can destroy everything,” Kalugin said. “He doesn’t have to be the president.”

This, of course, assumes that Putin hasn’t blackmailed Trump already. I believe he has, probably a result of something that took place during Trump’s trip to Russia for the Miss Universe pageant.

And whatever it is, it’s plenty bad. Trump has already rolled over and surrendered.