BBC correspondent: Ex-British intelligence officer ‘not the only source’ for Russia’s Trump dossier
The existence of a compromising Russian dossier on President-elect Donald Trump has been confirmed by multiple sources, BBC Washington Correspondent Paul Wood revealed on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, BuzzFeed published memos prepared by a former British intelligence officer which detail explosive information that Russians could use to compromise Trump. According to CNN, U.S. intelligence officials briefed both Trump and President Barack Obama on the dossier in recent months. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also personally delivered a copy of the memos to FBI Director James Comey, reports said.
During a BBC 4 radio broadcast on Wednesday, Wood revealed that the former British spy was not the only source claiming to have knowledge that Russia is possession of sex tapes that could embarrass the president-elect.
“The rumors or the allegations or whatever you want to call them have been circulating for a number of months now,” Wood explained. “I saw the report, compiled by the former British intelligence officer, back in October. He is not, and this is the crucial thing, the only source for this.”
Wood said that he had been told by a member of the U.S. intelligence community that at least one East European intelligence service was aware “that the Russians had kompromat or compromising material on Mr. Trump.”
“It’s very, very difficult, of course, to talk to US intelligence people. They’re breaking the law if they talk to you,” the BBC correspondent pointed out. “But I did ask somebody with connections in the CIA to pass a message to them, and I got a message back that there was allegedly more than one tape, not just video, but audio as well, on more than one date, in more than one place, in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.”
Wood warned that “nobody should believe something just because an intelligence agent says it.”
He added: “But it is viewed as credible by the CIA, and that’s why it landed on President Obama’s desk last week, on the desk of the congressional leadership, and was given to Mr. Trump as well. And even congressional Republicans are talking about investigations, and Democrats, I know, are talking about impeachment.”
Listen to the audio below.
