US intelligence agencies tell Donald Trump that Russia has material to blackmail him
A dossier presented to the US president-elect suggested that Russian agencies had compromising personal and financial information about him.
American intelligence officials last week presented President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take over on January 20, with documents alleging that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Trump, CNN reported. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the credibility of these allegations, but has not confirmed many of the details.
CNN reported that America’s intelligence chiefs took the “extraordinary step” of informing Trump – who has had an uncomfortable relationship with the agencies – to make sure the incoming president was aware that allegations about him were circulating in intelligence agencies.
Following this, Buzzfeed published the entire two-page memo about the allegations online. The document, which is unconfirmed and does include errors, suggests that Russian intelligence has enough material on Trump that they can blackmail him. It claims that Trump has been “cultivated” by the Kremlin and goes so far as to suggest the Russian intelligence agency may have videos of the US president-elect employing prostitutes.
“The documents have circulated for months and acquired a kind of legendary status among journalists, lawmakers, and intelligence officials who have seen them,” Buzzfeed reported.
Trump himself responded to the allegations on Twitter.