Mere days before he is set to enter office (after a much deserved weekend off) McClatchy DC is reporting that the FBI and five other law-enforcement agencies are looking into Donald Trump’s alleged connections to Russia. The months-long collaborative investigation will probe whether the Kremlin sent money to the Trump campaign to aid him in his presidential win.
McClatchy DC reports that the FBI, the National Security Agency, and CIA are but three of the the agencies looking into the Russian government possibly sending some dough to the Trump campaign. McClatchy DC reported that such a cash influx could have been used to pay for hacking operations within the U.S.
The agencies involved in the inquiry are the FBI, the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Justice Department, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and representatives of the director of national intelligence, the sources said.
Investigators are examining how money may have moved from the Kremlin to covertly help Trump win, the two sources said. One of the allegations involves whether a system for routinely paying thousands of Russian-American pensioners may have been used to pay some email hackers in the United States or to supply money to intermediaries who would then pay the hackers, the two sources said.
The informal, inter-agency working group began to explore possible Russian interference last spring, long before the FBI received information from a former British spy hired to develop politically damaging and unverified research about Trump, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the inquiry.
Trump just can’t seem to get away from allegations that Russia went to great lengths to help him win the 2016 presidential election. The president-elect has vehemently denied the claims, but intelligence officials have repeatedly insisted that the Russians did indeed attempt to influence the American electoral process. Meanwhile, this latest possible revelation is not being floated by a tiny investigative group, as many of the heavy intelligence hitters are leading the charge and collaborating.
It should be noted that the investigation originally began with a look at who bankrolled the DNC hack and began months before former British spy Christopher Steele’s inquiry. And the adventure isn’t over yet. Far from it.
(Via McClatchy DC)