Trump's connection to Russia doesn't end with Flynn

What exactly does it meanthat Trump's pick to headnational security, Michael Flynn, resigned only 24 daysinto his tenure amid the revelation that he discussed US sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador, then lied about itnot just to the general public but to America'sVice President?

Russia interfered with the US election to benefit Trump,and the New York Times just reported thatTrump's team was in contact with Russian officials for at least a year before the election. Did Trump himself collude with Russia directly?

This is not confirmed, but the optics are badand Trump is desperately trying to switch focus.

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Who knew what, and when, and what their legal obligation was is important. Trump knew "for weeks"that Flynn misled the White House aboutRussia, and only acted on it afterthis knowledge entered the public domain. Why not act sooner?

This story is far from over,and there are alreadysigns of major fissures.

US intelligence

The Wall Street Journal reported that the US intelligence agencies are not disclosing all they know to the president because they don't trust him.The White House responded:"There is nothing that leads us to believe that this is an accurate account of what is actually happening". But how could the White House possibly know what they aren't being told? Either US intelligenceisn't telling the president allthey know (likely), or they are lying and going public about concealing information from the president in a waythat amounts to taunting the president (unlikely). Something is going on.

After all, Flynn is the third person from Trump's teamto resign amid being connected to Russia. Earlier this summer, Paul Manafort was quietly pushed aside after it came to light that he lobbied for Putin-ally andpro-Ukraine lobbyist, Viktor Yanukovych. Carter Page was sacked after his connections to Russia became known. Trump hassurrounded himself withpeople linked toRussia (Tillerson, Secretary of State, awarded the Order of Friendship by Putin himself, is a standout).But Flynn was thenational security adviser.

There is a reason the final and most important chapter of Sun Tzu's Art of War is about the special role of spies, the army's most important function. "Upon them depends an army's ability to move." Every decision must be grounded in the best knowledge of all circumstances;That it's badto havethe head of America's national security controlled by the leader of Russia should be agreed upon by Democras and Republicans.

Yet Repulicans are keeping mostly quiet, preferring to remain in long-sought for power than expose their president for hisRussia connection. US intelligence appears to be making the standRepublicans won't.

But putting faith in USintelligence services to tell the truth is highlydangerousfor the simple reason that theylie frequently, as it's inevitable when a main part of your job is performingcovert operations. The relationshipbetween USintelligence agenciesand Donald Trump is not easy to decipher. While it seems like a war on the surface, there is much unknown. The spy agencies by definition are privy to much deeper knowledge than the public.

Speculation is endlessly tempting, but caution hereis prudent. Remember,FBI director James Comeydays before the US election announced that he was reopening the investigation into Clinton's emails, despite being aware at the time of the Steele dossier. Many things determined the outcome of the election, but this huge last minute swung had an large and undeniable role.Why did the FBI announce one and not the other?

Trump put into perspective by ex-CIA

While it's wise to refrain from speculating aboutwhat is by definition secret,the tongue lashings coming from the US intelligence community areanythingbut subtle. Glenn Carle, a 23-year veteran of the CIA, expressed in no uncertain terms what a threat Trump posesin aninterview with Vox conducted amidthe newsthat General Flynn had resigned:

"We are facing the gravest threat to our institutions and our government since 1861, since the country broke in half. This is a graver crisis than Watergate, which was about corruption, not the usurpation of our laws and our checks and balances. It's graver than World War II, when Hitler never actually threatened our institutions or occupation of Washington...We're dealing with a man in Trump who doesn't accept a fact-based reality, who only acts for his own self-aggrandizement, and who views any action that does not serve him as a threat that must be destroyed. And, on top of that, his teamappearsto have been colluding with Russian intelligence services."

Notice his use of the wordappears. Without a smoking gun linking Trump to Putin, that's all it is.

There is no smoking gun, but looking for one when there is so much around isn't unreasonable

Trump has repeatedly denied knowing Putin, but in video has claimed he does have arelationship with Putin.

Judge Sally Yates warned Trump that Flynn was vulnerable to Russian blackmail, and he fired her.Granted she also objected to the notoious Muslim ban, but perhaps he fired her for multiple reasons.

The notorious and unverified dossier compiled by former MI6 agent Christopher Steelealleging that Russia possessesembarassing blackmail material over Trump remains unverified, but it is part of an ongoing investigation. More, CNNpublished a reportclaiming that some aspectsfrom the dossierhavebeen corroborated. To be sure,some of what's in the dossier has been disproven, but if certain things in it are true, and are proven to be true, then the conversation becomes about treason and impeachment.

Trump has called the leaked documents "illegal", as if Trumpdidn't spend months using his unprecedented publicity machineto tell the world about leaksfrom Hillary Clinton's emails. Trump once, apparently,thought leaks wereso fair game that he encouraged Russia to hack Clinton's emailin the middle of a presidential debate.

Why oppose leaks now? BecauseFlynn didn't resign until leaks emerged. Given thesheer volume of connections between Russia and Trump, and an intelligence community who likelyknows what is going on (about many things) and does not seem thrilled with the president, Trumpgoing to fierce lengths to discredit leaks by emphasising their illegalitymakes sense. Leaks are working against him, now.

There are signsthere may be more leaks yet. It's awfully hard to believe Trump's connection to Russia ends now that Flynn has been removed.

(WION)