Chinese spies reportedly regularly listen in on Trump's cellphone calls

published 24 October 2018

U.S. intelligence agencies have learned that when President Trump uses his unsecured iPhone to call friends, Chinese spies are regularly listening in on his conversations, former and current officials told The New York Times.

Trump has been warned numerous times not to use his cellphone, with his aides urging him to make calls on his secured White House line, but he won't give the phone up because it has all of his contacts in it, the Times reports. Aides said when he does use his iPhone, they keep their fingers crossed that he does not bring up classified information.

U.S. intelligence has determined that China is taking note of who Trump talks to and what their conversations are about. The government then asks Chinese businessmen to share Beijing's point of view on various matters with Trump's friends, with the hope that these people, trusted by Trump, will pass these pro-China arguments along to the president. Russians spies are also routinely eavesdropping on Trump, the officials told the Times. Read more about the spying, and the people China is targeting to get through to Trump, at The New York Times.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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