Revealed: Trump team hired spy firm for 'dirty ops' on Iran arms deal

[riversedge]

Source: The Guardian


Israeli agency told to find incriminating material on Obama diplomats who negotiated deal with Tehran

Mark Townsend and Julian Borger in Washington

Sat 5 May 2018 16.00 EDT
Last modified on Sat 5 May 2018 19.01 EDT


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Aides to Donald Trump, the US president, hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to orchestrate a “dirty ops” campaign against key individuals from the Obama administration who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal, the Observer can reveal.

People in the Trump camp contacted private investigators in May last year to “get dirt” on Ben Rhodes, who had been one of Barack Obama’s top national security advisers, and Colin Kahl, deputy assistant to Obama, as part of an elaborate attempt to discredit the deal.

The extraordinary revelations come days before Trump’s 12 May deadline to either scrap or continue to abide by the international deal limiting Iran’s nuclear programme.


Sources said that officials linked to Trump’s team contacted investigators days after Trump visited Tel Aviv a year ago, his first foreign tour as US president. Trump promised Netanyahu that Iran would never have nuclear weapons and suggested that the Iranians thought they could “do what they want” since negotiating the nuclear deal in 2015. A source with details of the “dirty tricks campaign” said: “The idea was that people acting for Trump would discredit those who were pivotal in selling the deal, making it easier to pull out of it.”.............................

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/05/trump-team-hired-spy-firm-dirty-ops-iran-nuclear-deal

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Grant Stern liked
Malcolm Nance Verified account @MalcolmNance
25m25 minutes ago

Malcolm Nance Retweeted Daniel W. Drezner

What the actual? This is cutting pret

Link to tweet

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[Wellstone ruled]

1. Many have for some time,

suspected a like between Bibi and Trump ,when it came to Iran. Similar phrases,similiar stats,similiar time frame.

[riversedge]

3. Both Bibi and Trump have serious legal problems at home and both need major distractions.

[Wellstone ruled]

7. Notice also Nunes attacking John Kerry.

Way past time to burn the Rethugs to the grown. When we have to effectively rely on the European press for the hard facts,that tells one just how compromised our Printed Media is .

[erronis]

14. Would it be possible that israel is "running" dump while pretending to be russia?

It seems pretty obvious that Tel Aviv has the technology to infiltrate the US and russian networks and even the secure C&C points.

Perhaps all along Vlad (impaler) Putin was totally innocent and baby Bibi was the source of evil?


OK - I'm totally kidding! It was the Klingons!

[SkyDaddy7]

18. Correct me if I'm wrong...

But Jared, Trump’s son in law, his family has been long time friends with Bibi Netanyahu...I’m almost 100% sure that is true because I think I read it a while back & then at some point I remember Netanyahu making the comment during a dual press conference that he remembered when Jared was a baby.

Any of that sound familiar to you or anyone else!?!

[Wellstone ruled]

19. Do recall that story.

Bibi has a Hedge Fund Interest in Boston. He and Mitt Romney work together at one time.

[kskiska]

20. Jared has said that Netanyahu used to sleep in his bed

that he had to give up when Netanyahu visited the Kushner family.

[riversedge]

26. Now that you mention it, I do recall a story along those lines. 🌊🌊🌊 #FlipItBlue #BlueWave2018 #V

[turbinetree]

2. Slimeballs........................

November 2018 cannot get here fast enough

[northoftheborder]

4. Most disgusting horrifying actions by the Dotard yet revealed.

How much worse can it get?

[RandomAccess]

8. Well, just be aware: He HAS no bottom

There's no bottom to any of his faults or illegal, immoral proclivities. He has no shame and can't be reached.

[GETPLANING]

5. Add this to the list of treasonous acts

by the Trump alliance of criminals. They undermine the national interest to serve their own interests. It's time to start calling it what it is.

[bronxiteforever]

6. There is no limit to their evil,

No bottom to the barrel of sludge, no institution or convention that isn’t despoiled by the republicans.

[DavidDvorkin]

9. He's surely doomed now!!!!

As we've all thought so often before.

What's really disgusting is that none of this matters.

[calimary]

10. Wonder if anybody has sent this to Rachel (Maddow)?

I believe the email is sendittorachel.com for any and all intriguing tips.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Trump wants to erase Obama, regardless of the cost to the USA's standing & power in the world.

He would assassinate Obama if he could.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Same people who say Steele Dossier is "Democratic collusion with Russians" will applaud this. . . nt

[riversedge]

13. Maddow replies..............

Link to tweet

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[lordsummerisle]

15. Unbelievable n/t

[bucolic_frolic]

16. Wow. As president, hiring foreign private spies to do dirty work

Doubt our own people would do it

[paleotn]

17. Apparently, this malignant plan....

like most of Dumpster's malignant plans, this one must have been royally screwed up. Maybe I'm not as informed as I could be, but honestly, I've never heard of Ben Rhodes or Colin Kahl. Certainly nothing related to the Iran deal. If this was meant to trash their reputations and the Iran deal indirectly, it was an utter failure. Or people in the private intelligence agency decided not to go over to the dark side. At the very least, it's more high crimes and misdemeanors. If a Democratic administration was caught doing shit like this, they'd be finished.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

21. K & R, and perspectives from Europe.

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/05/observer-view-trump-folly-risking-peace-middle-east

(Snips)

The harm a Trump decision to scupper the Iran deal would do to US relations with its European partners, all of whom are adamant in its defense, is incalculable.

There is no evidence that Iran is cheating on the nuclear deal. It remains a notable diplomatic achievement. It is essential that it is preserved intact – and built upon. Ultimately, this is about much more than nuclear proliferation. It is about the credibility, unity – and common sense – of the western democracies in jointly managing the challenges thrown up by a dangerous world.

........ ............

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. Stunning Developments on Trump/Private Black Ops Oppo Targeting Obama Staffers

Then overnight Kahl came forward with a story from around the time the firm was reportedly hired in which someone approached his wife about investing in their children’s charter school. You can read the thread here (

Link to tweet

). There was a backstory and details. But it sounded to the Kahls like an intelligence operation – not altogether uncommon for people in that line of work to see. So they eventually cut off communication.

Then a short time ago, Laura Rozen confirmed with Kahl (

Link to tweet

) that the purported firm which reached out to the Kahls was ‘Reuben Capital Partners’. That’s the same name used by Black Cube in the Weinstein operations, first reported in The New Yorker by Ronan Farrow last year.

Black Cube is now vehemently denying it was hired to spy on or run dirty tricks against Rhodes or Kahl. It’s not clear to me whether that denial came before or after Rozen uncovered the apparent link between the two cases. The denial seems to be unambiguous. But it is very hard to believe that two separate operations would stumble on the same name for a front operation. Conceivably, two different firms worked in concert with yet another firm that was running this front operation. But that’s a very far-fetched hypothetical in contrast to a very straightforward explanations. It was Black Cube working for Weinstein and the Trump aides and they’re simply lying about their involvement.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/stunning-developments-on-trump-black-ops

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

23. Lock him up!!!!

[riversedge]

24. Indeed.

[FakeNoose]

25. Putin wants the Iran deal DEAD

That's why Cheeto is doing this, and not for any other reason.

So what is Netanyahu's motive? I don't see what he gains from killing the Iran deal, unless maybe Putin is working him over too. Does Pootie have kompromat on Netanyahu?