Craig Unger

“Kislin... came to Trump’s aid after his massive bankruptcies in Atlantic City in the nineties by issuing mortgages for condos in Trump World Tower...”

“[V]ast sums from the {{w|Russian Mafia}}'s various {{w|scam}}s had to be laundered. So in 1984, David Bogatin, a Russian mobster who had scored millions in the Red Daisy gas scam with Balagula, went shopping... at... {{w|Trump Tower}}... closing, with Donald Trump... in attendance... five condominiums ...$6 million... cash, the equivalent of... $15 million in 2020. According to the New York State attorney general’s office... the Russian Mafia had just laundered money...”

“"Trump was a dream for {{w|KGB}} officers looking to develop an asset," Shvets told me. "...with Trump it wasn't just weakness. Everything was excessive. His vanity ...Narcissism ...Greed ...Ignorance, excessive."”

“Trump... had a personality that was ideal for a potential asset—vain, narcissistic, highly susceptible to flattery, and greedy.”

“Shvets... had a front-row seat at the birth of post-Soviet Russia as a Mafia state and on the waves of kleptocrats and oligarchs... sweeping into the West, along with authoritarian right-wing populist politicians.”

“In 1995, Shvets published Washington Station: My Life as a KGB Spy in America, his memoir...”

“Yuri helped Litvinenko assemble and analyze a dossier linking senior {{w|Kremlin}} officials, including... Putin, to the Tambov organized crime group, which laundered money and facilitated drug trafficking for the Colombian cartel.”

“{{w|Bayrock Group}}... based in {{w|Trump Tower}}... [with] ties to the {{w|Kremlin}}, came up with a... business model to franchise Trump condos after he'd lost billions... which made the perpetually bankrupt... Trump rich again and would lead to a... {{w|kleptocracy}}... America... injected with... oligarchy... with Donald Trump in the {{w|White House}}.”

“[A]ccording to Shvets, Kislin... spotted Donald Trump, who... became a special unofficial contact—a rare variation of trusted contact that was applied to high-level {{w|KGB}} intelligence assets, like... {{w|Armand Hammer}} and... Robert Maxwell.”

“Sapir told {{w|Forbes}} magazine, his customers included the former Soviet minister of {{w|petrochemical}}s, who granted Sapir rights to distribute tens of thousands of tons of fertilizer and tens of millions of barrels of oil, while pocketing fees... [S]elling oil was impossible without {{w|KGB}} approval.”

“Kislin... and his partner, {{w|Tamir Sapir}}... set up... Joy-Lud Electronics... ultimately controlled by the {{w|KGB}}... always filled with KGB agents and high-level Soviet dignitaries. ..."The KGB was... paranoid about... bugging...” said Shvets. But since Kislin was... with the KGB, Soviet dignitaries had no such concerns.”

“{{w|Yuri Shvets}}... described... to me in great detail... the most successful intelligence operation in history... ending... with a Russian asset in the {{w|White House}}...”

“A serious counterintelligence investigation... would presumably have asked... whether Trump had been compromised... by Russia. ...[H]ow deeply Trump was indebted to the {{w|Russian Mafia}} ...laundering millions of dollars... Was he a Russian asset? ...How much did he make laundering ..?”

“[T]he Mueller probe... regarding criminal activities... led to.. indictment of thirty-four individuals and three companies. Ten men pleaded guilty or were convicted... including... Trump associates... Paul Manafort... Rick Gates... Michael Flynn... George Nader... Roger Stone.... {{w|George Papadopoulos}}, and... Michael Cohen.”

“[T]he Mueller Report... part... dealing with {{w|counterintelligence}} was one... paragraph, saying... the FBI "embedded personnel... did not work on the Special Counsel’s investigation, but... sen[t]... summaries of foreign intelligence and counterintelligence... to FBIHQ and... Field Offices. Those communications and other... not all... contained in this Volume." ...there was no counterintelligence investigation.”

“{{w|Criminal investigation}}s are intended to lead toward prosecution; {{w|counterintelligence}} are not. Instead, they... thwart... espionage, or {{w|sabotage}}... Even though... not... about breaking the law... counterintelligence... may... involve issues... far more serious. In this case... Russian interference in... elections. From {{w|cyberwarfare}}.... disinformation... Russian assets... groomed for... perhaps decades, and were... in place to... damage... vital American institutions.”

“[D]uring the 2016 election cycle, the... FSB... found plenty of ways to subvert America’s elections without breaking the law.”

“[I]ntelligence operations... [brought] Trump into the {{w|KGB}}'s fold... compromised him through... money-laundering schemes, sycophantic flattery... extravagantly well-paid franchising projects... [etc.]”

“[T]his is a country... in which it's possible to take money... [and] establish communications with Russian intelligence, and... to be a Russian asset without breaking the law. Russians can hire... attorneys as lobbyists, who... have access to... secrets... to get what they want.”

“[[w:Intelligence assessment|[I]ntelligence]] operations are designed to operate within the law... [L]ax regulations... enforcement, and the... nature of counterintelligence, has given the Russians... latitude.”