Ex-CIA Director: Vladimir Putin Cultivated Donald Trump as 'Source' [View all]

Last edited Tue Oct 15, 2024, 06:58 AM - Edit history (1)

Photo courtesy of the Brookings Institute

Former CIA director Leon Panetta said that Russian President Vladimir Putin views former President Donald Trump as a "source" that he can use to his benefit.

Appearing on the One Decision podcast, Panetta discussed allegations in journalist Bob Woodward's new book War that Trump and Putin had as many as seven private phone calls since early 2021, after Trump left office.

Panetta said that it would be "very unusual" for the Russian president to be engaged in communication with a former POTUS.
He added that Putin "knows how to work a source, and he's got a source that is very near the top in this country, he, himself is going to engage that source."

"That really is what the bottom line is — is that Trump has turned into a source for Putin, and somebody who can help him manipulate what he wants to get done," Panetta said.

Panetta, who was D/CIA between 2009 and 2011, said that it would be concerning if the pair remained in private communication.

"The mere fact that a former president of the US is having regular conversation with our primary adversary raises real questions about where is his basic loyalty. Is it really to the United States of America? Or is it to Donald Trump?" he said.

Speaking on the podcast, Panetta described watching Trump publicly side with Russia over the FBI regarding election interference claims during a meeting with Putin in 2018.

Panetta said that in that moment Trump "basically said he trusted Russian intelligence more than he trusted United States intelligence." He said this led him to believe that Trump was a "very dangerous person."

Trump has continued to compliment the Russian president, publicly praising him as "smart," even after the Russian leader's invasion of Ukraine.

Donald Trump and disgraced retired US Army General Michael Flynn remain the two greatest threats to US national security.

Source:

https://www.newsweek.com/putin-trump-source-cia-director-1967549