Further to my recent piece on this subject, and following some comments from my readers, I believe that some clarification is needed.
All agents are assets, but not all assets are agents. However, the lack of a smoking gun or a document does not preclude agency. There is simply no direct evidence. Consider two of Trump’s three marriages as opportunities for secret services affiliated with Moscow to influence Trump.
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Ivana Trump, born in Czechoslovakia, brought Trump into the view of the Czech secret police. Files later revealed that her father, Miloš Zelníček, was a documented informant. He provided reports on his daughter and son-in-law. The StB (the Secret police of Communist Czechoslovakia) monitored Trump’s visits to Czechoslovakia, ensuring that information about the up-and-coming New York businessman was regularly passed on to Moscow.
Melania Trump, born in Slovenia, came from a household monitored by Yugoslav state security. Her father, Viktor Knavs, had a file in the UDBA (Directorate for State Security) archives. While there is no proof of active collaboration, the existence of a file confirms that the Yugoslav secret police considered the family worth tracking. Mainstream profiles confirm Knavs’ Communist Party membership and state-sector employment, a background that would have kept him on the radar of security services.
Nonetheless, this is inconclusive by legal standards.
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Russia from tsarist times has always been a police state. In the last two centuries the Cheka, NKVD, KGB and its successor agencies, the FSB and SVR, have spent decades cultivating businessmen, politicians, journalists, and public figures in the West. Not all have been willing participants. The measure for Russia has not been intent but utility.
Consider Donald Trump from his first Moscow trip in 1987 to his conduct as president and, perhaps, beyond. There is a consistent pattern. He has been vulnerable to manipulation, financially entangled with Russian-linked networks, and politically aligned with Kremlin objectives.
American investigators have documented this and European intelligence services quietly acknowledged it years before it was spoken aloud by the Portuguese president recently.
The issue of Trump’s intent is a whole separate matter. I would submit that the criminal element of intent is present. It has evolved over the years. Trump is essentially a simple man. Initially, Trump was consumed with himself alone, his persona and wealth. The Machiavellian principle of the ends justifying the means was and is deeply embedded within Trump. The dishonorable Roy Cohn had been his mentor and the Russians were helpful. There was a callous indifference to morality, principles and ramifications.
Russia further cultivated Trump. It saw a potential asset. Trump acquiesced but sought more. He wanted to develop his properties in Russia. Financial largesse and fame were the motives. A Trump Tower in the center of Moscow became the symbol of his aspirations, money and fame.
When Trump decided to run for president, initially few in the United States gave him much of a chance. Russia saw an opportunity and proceeded to help. Russia became very much involved in Trump’s initial election bid. The finding of Robert Mueller, the FBI’s special counsel investigator, could not attest to the efficacy of the Russian effort, but did determine that the effort was there. Trump recognized that Russia worked on his behalf, but as per his upbringing by Roy Cohn, Trump denied any involvement and called it a hoax.
Still, he wanted to continue this symbiotic relationship. Thus his performance in Helsinki in July 2018, which clearly manifested his intent as a Russian asset.
With the war in Ukraine in full force, Trump has intentionally taken the Russian side. I do not believe that Trump is under any pressure or “kompromat.” He simply sees his and his family’s future as more beneficial with Russia rather than Ukraine. The equation is simple. Russia is stronger and larger. Trump is well aware of Putin’s intentions. The specter of a Trump Tower extends to Kyiv as well in the event of a Russian victory.
In conclusion, there is no direct evidence of Trump being a Russian agent. However, he is certainly a Russian asset. He is not pressured into this position. I believe he has chosen to be an asset so that he may benefit. In the case of Ukraine which since day one of its independence has sought to be an American ally, Trump has betrayed Ukraine. He has also perpetrated treason against the United States because he has betrayed the American Constitution and everything that America has stood for during the past 250 years. In fact, he is molding America into a police state, not unlike Russia.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
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