A bombshell new report on alleged leaked Kremlin documents references "apparent confirmation that the Kremlin possesses kompromat" on former President Donald Trump — but experts warn it should be read with a skeptical eye.
On Thursday, The Guardian reported on "what are assessed to be leaked Kremlin documents" allegedly showing that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized an operation to support Trump's election during a January 2016 meeting because it would bring "social turmoil" to the United States. The documents reportedly include an assessment of Trump as "mentally unstable and unbalanced," and the report also says they contain "apparent confirmation that the Kremlin possesses kompromat," potentially compromising material, on Trump.
It was a massive revelation if true, but Johns Hopkins professor of strategic studies Thomas Rid warned readers should "remain somewhat cautious" about the story, pointing to language in it that "makes me wonder how much the Guardian even knows about the source," as well as the report's frequent hedging among other concerns. According to the report, the section of the document about the alleged "kompromat" says details about it can be found in an appendix, but it's "unclear what the appendix contains."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Chris Krebs, former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director, agreed with Rid's skepticism, writing, "This is far too convenient & reeks of #disinfo operation. It could all be individually or collectively true and at the same time planted & fake." Krebs added that "in the meantime, I'm taking this approach," attaching a meme of Tom Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road warning, "That's bait."
At The Washington Post, journalist Philip Bump also expressed skepticism, writing, "It is odd that this document, so closely related to the national discourse over the past five years, only emerged now. It was purportedly leaked from within the Kremlin, but that happened only now? Or it only trickled down to the media now, when so many other things emerged more quickly? It's curious."
-
September 6 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include profiting from authoritarianism, and the National Guard entering the CDC
-
Should Britain withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights?Talking Point With calls now coming from Labour grandees as well as Nigel Farage and the Tories, departure from the ECHR 'is starting to feel inevitable'
-
5 outspoken cartoons about Epstein survivors taking center stageCartoons Artists take on cover-ups, Trump surrounded, and more
-
Why are Trump's health rumors about more than just presidential fitness?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Extended absences and unexplained bruises have raised concerns about both his well-being and his administration's transparency
-
'The McDonald's menu board is one fascinating thing'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Florida aims to end all state vaccine requirementsSpeed Read Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cut vaccine access and install anti-vaccine activists at the FDA and CDC
