British spy agency GCHQ shared intelligence information with the U.S. that first alerted the Americans to the potentially troublesome ties between then-candidate Donald Trump's campaign team and Russian operatives, The Guardian reports. GCHQ alerted U.S. agents to suspicious "interactions" between Trump-orbit individuals and known or suspected Russian agents in late 2015, and alongside other European intelligence agencies informed the U.S. of the connections.
GCHQ was not conducting a targeted operation against Trump, but rather the alleged conversations were "picked up by chance," The Guardian notes. But apparently U.S. agents had to be shaken alert by their counterparts abroad:
Subscribe to 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.
-
US, China agree to lower tariffs for 90 daysspeed read US tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on US imports to 10% from 125%
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideastspeed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Does ketchup belong on a hot dog and more May 12 editorial cartoonsCartoons Monday's cartoons feature Pope Leo XIV, Newark airport, and Donald Trump's meme coin
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney postspeed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff dealspeed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffsspeed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying reportspeed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop banspeed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff ideaspeed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
