A Ukrainian Peace Plan, a Chinese Grand Bargain, and NASCAR Transparency
What if our politicians wore the logos of their sponsors?
Happy Indictment Week to all who celebrate! The wheels of justice move slowly but it was good to see this week that they do indeed move, with indictments of fake electors in Michigan and evidence that Donald Trump will be indicted for trying to illegally overturn an election. Their (alleged) actions have helped move the country away from democracy and toward authoritarianism. And while these examples are domestic, they still help illustrate much of the corruption and information warfare we discuss in my Foreign Influence Operations course. If you haven’t signed up yet, why not? It’s timely, informative, and fun!
ALEX’S WEEKLY RANT
Last week, I ranted about Gal Luft, a US-Israeli citizen indicted for working as a foreign agent on behalf of China. Luft allegedly targeted former CIA director and Trump campaign adviser James Woolsey, hoping to push a “grand bargain” between the United States and China.
Luft was the middleman that allowed a former Chinese government official who went on to be convicted of bribery to target the former director of CIA and Trump administration adviser to make him the vector for Chinese influence, and that same former Chinese official was providing input about what administration position his “side” would prefer Woolsey assume. Luft accepted payment from principals in China to do this, and he never registered with the Department of Justice as an agent of a foreign government, as legally required (allegedly).
While the DOJ indictment of Luft does not outline the full details of the “grand bargain” China was hoping to strike with the Trump administration, the fact that they hoped their target (Woolsey) would become Secretary of Defense suggests China was hoping to make moves on Taiwan without any US pushback.
Luft and his Chinese co-conspirator planned to bring Woolsey to China to meet with principals. Luft and his co-conspirator referred to this as an “undercover” trip and a “silent trip,” seemingly aiming to lay the foundation for the grand bargain in secret.
A Ukrainian Peace Plan
While reading about China’s “grand bargain,” I couldn’t help but recall Russian efforts to deliver a Ukrainian peace plan to the Trump campaign (and later the administration). Indeed, the Chinese and Russian efforts were occurring at the same time.
In Russia’s case, they used Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, to deliver a peace plan that would have put Viktor Yanukovich (the Ukrainian president who was ousted by the Ukrainian people and who fled to Russia) as head of an independent republic in eastern Ukraine, thus making it a puppet of Russia.
Manafort has acknowledged the plan was a “backdoor” for Russia to control Ukraine. It was given to him by Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian intelligence agent, who believed (as did Manafort) that the plan needed US support to succeed. As Kilimnik wrote Manafort, “all that is required to start the process is a very minor ‘wink’ (or slight push) from [Donald Trump].”
Similar to the plan to secretly bring Woolsey to China to meet principals there, Kilimnik told Manafort that if he were designated US representative on the Ukraine peace plan and started the process, he’d be welcomed in Russia “at the very top level.” (See Robert Mueller’s report on Russian Interference for more details.)
As the DOJ said about Luft: he engaged in activities “in an effort to seek to influence United States foreign policy toward and the public perception of China.” He did this while concealing the fact he was being paid by people in China.
Manafort, too, pushed an agenda handed to him by a Russian agent, while concealing he owed huge favors to certain Russian principals.
NASCAR TRANSPARENCY
NASCAR drivers are covered in patches with the brand names and logos of their sponsors or “Official Partners.” We know who funds them and their team. So, when they say something like, “Penzoil is the best!” we know they are being paid to say that.
Wouldn’t it be great if we had the same for our politicians? So that when Trump says, “I would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours,” we’d know if his administration were getting something from Russia to say that. I think it would make this whole foreign influence thing a lot clearer for the American public.
We keep learning about attempts to covertly influence US policy through the use of corrupt clandestine agents, eager to make money. As I repeat ad nauseam in my Foreign Influence Operations course: This. Is. Bad. For. Democracy.
Democracy requires transparency. I’m glad investigators are uncovering some of this corruption, but it would be great to see our politicians wearing patches like NASCAR drivers, so we know who is paying for what.
THE WEEK’S LINKS
A roundup of stories you should be reading
RUSSIA
Russia’s Spies Say Putin Faces More Coups (The Insider)
UNITED STATES AND CORRUPTION
How Harlan Crow Cut His Taxes With Clarence Thomas Cruises (ProPublica)
UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL
Israel Struggling to Recover Ancient Artifacts Trump Took to Mar-a-Lago (Rolling Stone)
Alex Finley is a former officer of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, where she served in West Africa and Europe. She writes and teaches about terrorism, disinformation / covert influence, and oligarch yachts. Her writing has appeared in Slate, Reductress, Funny or Die, POLITICO, The Center for Public Integrity, and other publications. She has spoken to the BBC, MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, France24, and numerous other media outlets. She was also invited once to speak at Harvard, which she now tells everyone within the first ten seconds of meeting them. She is the author of the Victor Caro series, satirical novels about the CIA. Before joining the CIA, Alex was a journalist, covering Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, and the Department of Energy. She reported on issues related to national security, intelligence, and homeland security. Did she mention she was invited to speak at Harvard?
