this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2025
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Summary

Former Kazakh intelligence chief Alnur Mussayev alleges that the KGB recruited Donald Trump in 1987 under the codename “Krasnov.”

In a Facebook post, Mussayev claimed that the KGB targeted Western businessmen and that Trump’s file is now privately controlled by a Putin associate.

Though unverified, the claims fuel speculation about Trump’s ties to Russia, which he has denied.

Concerns about Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin persist, with former officials like Anthony Scaramucci suggesting an unexplained “hold” on him but offering no further details.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

Your logic ("I can't believe it so it's likely untrue") is flawed. "I can't believe the world is round so Occam's razor it must be flat because that I can understand."

Putin is very smart and the KGB were smart and they bested US intelligence, according to the now deleted article, not in those exact words. Why is that so implausible?

There could just as easily be other bought or compromised US officials, not just Trump. The thinking "but this couldn't really happen, it's too sneaky and complicated!" is a pretty naive counterpoint.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

"I can't believe it so it's likely untrue," is a fundamental misinterpretation of what I'm saying. "There is enough evidence of a Trump/Russia connection without unreliable sources," would be more accurate.

Believing unverified claims has consequences. Remember the Steele dossier, with its wild allegations of blackmail and urinating prostitutes? It's now pretty much entirely discredited due to unreliable sources, and the very real, very clear connection between Trump and Russia lost credibility with it.

Similarly, the Mueller investigation was also undermined by outlandish claims. Left-leaning grifters like Louise Mensch and the Krassenstein brothers made predictions of imminent arrests and treason charges. When the Mueller Report was finally released, it stated that, while there wasn't enough evidence to say Trump definitively colluded with Russia, there was no evidence to clear him of that charge, and he committed criminal obstruction of justice during the course of the investigation. That should have been a damning conclusion, but after months of wild speculation and overhype, it was labeled a nothing-burger.

So, I'm going to remain skeptical of an old KGB agent's Facebook post about a 38 year plot to recruit Donald Trump as a spy, and instead stick to what is known: Trump has long had business dealings with Russian oligarchs, the Russian government supported him through online propaganda, there were credible accusations of collusion between his campaign and Russia, and he is now promoting a pro-Russia foreign policy. That's significant enough.

And that is not saying, "I can't believe the world is round so Occam's razor it must be flat because that I can understand." That's saying, "I can see the Earth is curved, and while some people claim we're actually on the back of giant turtle, Occam's Razor says it's probably just round."

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Good job. You've earned your rubles and can clock out now.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 hours ago

LOL, you're literally doing the thing I'm describing. You're making an outlandish claim (that I am a paid Russian agent) that's going to make a real issue (Russian online disinformation campaigns) seem less credible. If your reaction to someone saying, "Trump is clearly in Russia's pocket, but you should be wary of outlandish claims with unverified sources," is, "you must be a Russian propagandist," you need to touch grass.