Former CIA Officer Speaks Out on The Sickening Feeling of Watching Putin Use His KGB Case Officer Skills on Trump

Watching Trump, ever the Useful Idiot of Putin, getting Case Officered by the Russian leader is beyond disheartening.

As a former CIA officer who served in Moscow during the 1980s, I have a firsthand understanding of the psychological manipulation tactics that Putin, a seasoned KGB officer, would have mastered in his years with the KGB. I’ve watched him apply those same tactics on Donald Trump for years, but the revelations from the new Bob Woodward book create a new high water mark for Putin’s manipulation of Trump. The sad, sickening truth is that Trump has no clue how he’s being “case officered” by Putin.

The Case of the COVID Tests

Woodward recounts how Trump “secretly sent Putin a bunch of Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines for his personal use.” (Not just the test kits —but the machines for reading the tests, which were then in great demand and short supply.) But Putin — who infamously isolated himself over fears of Covid — told Trump on a phone call to keep the delivery of the Abbott machines quiet Putin allegedly told Trump “I don’t want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me”—implying that Trump could face backlash if this act became public knowledge. Here, Putin was establishing a framework of control, laying down an unspoken agreement that any such favors have strings attached. This wasn’t simply about tests; it was about Putin leveraging Trump into a position where he could potentially use this act as kompromat, a familiar tactic to those of us who understand the methods of Russian intelligence. There was no need to actually threaten to use it in that way— rather by simply reminding Trump of his vulnerable posture, while making it seem he was solicitous and concerned about Trump, Putin was optimizing his control over Trump.

More astonishing is this. Journalist Karly Kingsley has posted a reminder that at the time this happened, central lab testing to diagnose Covid-19 infections took a long time, and infections were spreading at least in part due to the lag time. Every machine mattered, and machines like Abbott’s were in short supply and hard to get. So it was in this environment that Trump chose to send them to Putin— and worse, to not charge him for them, or to negotiate anything of value for the US. What might he have negotiated, given Putin’s germaphobia and fear of COVID? Well, for starters, how about the release of Americans Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed, then being held by Russia and later released under the Biden administration. Of course he didn’t.

The 7 Phone Calls Since Trump Left Office

Since Trump left office, Woodward reports that he has had seven private calls with Putin, where he cleared the room for complete secrecy. We may never know the details of these conversations, but one thing is certain: they provide Putin ample room to flatter Trump, reel him in, and manipulate him further. (And indeed, we may well someday know more, because while Trump would not have been the target of US surveillance efforts, Putin certainly would have been and the call was presumably on an open line.)

Trump repeatedly claims that had he remained president, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would never have happened. Yet these calls between the two continue to cast doubt on that assertion. If he were genuinely committed to preventing Russian aggression, did he once use these calls to dissuade Putin from invading Ukraine? Clearly not. Meanwhile Putin, who sees the world through a lens of strategic opportunity, would capitalize on Trump’s admiration for him, likely using these conversations to further his own aims, knowing that Trump’s loyalty would outweigh any duty to the United States.

Let’s also recognize the obvious: Donald Trump has long placed the pursuit of Putin’s approval above any sense of loyalty to the office he once held. He has consistently shown a willingness to ingratiate himself with Putin, both while in office and now as a private citizen. Any influence he has post-presidency seems directed at undermining the current administration, aligning with Russia’s interests over America’s. Trump’s calls to Putin likely contained promises of leniency toward Russian goals, echoing a future administration ready to concede to the Kremlin’s demands. This would have had the very real effect of undermining the current administration’s policies by, in effect, placing an expiration date on them. With Trump promising a more Russia-friendly stance if he returns to office, Putin gains an even greater strategic advantage. Russia knows that any support for Ukraine or countermeasures against Russian aggression under Biden could be swiftly reversed if Trump regains power. The very idea that Trump would entertain negotiations with Russia while out of office, flaunting the Logan Act, speaks to his disregard for America’s security interests.

An Overriding Imperative - No Second Term for Trump

It’s clear: Trump is being played by Case Officer Putin to the detriment of the Untied States. The American people deserve a leader who won’t jeopardize national security by sucking up to a dictator in private calls, undermining U.S. interests for personal gains and political spite. There are a thousand reasons to keep Trump out of the White House - but given the stakes, the danger he presents to U.S. national security is the overriding reason to deliver a decisive defeat to him in November, and then mobilize every resource available to keep him from stealing the election after he loses it.