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| caption = First edition cover
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| author = [[Peter Strzok]]
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| subject = Investigates the administration of Donald J. Trump as a source of Russian intelligence
| subject = Investigates the administration of Donald J. Trump as a source of Russian intelligence
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| cover_artist = Brian Moore
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| country = USA
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| language = [[English language|English]]
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| series =
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| genre = Nonfiction
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| publisher = [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]]
| publisher = [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]]
| release_date = September 8, 2020
| release_date = September 8, 2020
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| media_type = Print (hardback)
| media_type = Print (hardback)
| pages = 350
| pages = 350
| isbn = 978-0-358-23706-8
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{{Trump–Russia relations}}
{{Trump–Russia relations}}
'''''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump''''' is a ''New York Times'' and ''Washington Post'' best-selling non-fiction book by [[Peter Strzok]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 27, 2020|title=New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2020/09/27/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/|access-date=April 3, 2021|website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=September 16, 2020|title=Washington Post hardcover bestsellers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/washington-post-hardcover-bestsellers/2020/09/16/4ba1122a-f798-11ea-89e3-4b9efa36dc64_story.html|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> released by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in September 2020, that describes Strzok's role as Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI counterintelligence division during the investigation of the Donald J. Trump presidential administration. Strzok's investigation examined the administration as a possible source of Russian misinformation that furthered Russian interests prior to, during, and after the 2016 Presidential election.
'''''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump''''' is a 2020 non-fiction book authored by former FBI agent [[Peter Strzok]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 27, 2020|title=New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2020/09/27/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/|access-date=April 3, 2021|website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=September 16, 2020|title=Washington Post hardcover bestsellers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/washington-post-hardcover-bestsellers/2020/09/16/4ba1122a-f798-11ea-89e3-4b9efa36dc64_story.html|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> As Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI counterintelligence division, Strzok led the FBI's [[Crossfire Hurricane (FBI investigation)|Crossfire Hurricane]] investigation of alleged Russian influence upon President [[Donald Trump]] and Trump's 2016 campaign. Strzok's book recaps the full arc of the investigation<ref>Bertrand, Natasha. [https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/05/peter-strzok-would-like-to-clear-a-few-things-up-409280 "Peter Strzok would like to clear a few things up"], [[Politico]] (5 Sep 2020): Strzok "led the FBI's Russia investigation, dubbed Crossfire Hurricane….Strzok's new book, obtained by POLITICO ahead of its release next week, recaps the full arc of Crossfire Hurricane…."</ref> and portrays Trump as profoundly corrupt, and a serious threat to [[national security]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/us/politics/peter-strzok-book.html|title=Ex-F.B.I. Agent in Russia Inquiry Says Trump Is a National Security Threat|author=Goldman, Adam|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=September 5, 2020|access-date=July 17, 2023|archive-date=September 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918175752/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/us/politics/peter-strzok-book.html}}</ref>


==Author's background==
Sources within the administration that were believed to have received and been aware of Russian efforts to provide damaging information about presidential opponent Hillary Clinton to the 2016 Trump campaign were also investigated, as was Clinton's placement and partial deletion of confidential e-mails on her personal server, an action not found to have been a crime by Strzok's FBI investigation as it was found she had not acted with criminal intent.
[[Peter Strzok]] had been a lead agent in the FBI's "Operation Ghost Stories" against Andrey Bezrukov and Yelena Vavilova, a Russian spy couple who were part of the [[Illegals Program]], a network of Russian sleeper agents who were arrested in 2010.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 11, 2018 |title=GOP stunt to smear counter-intel expert Strzok ripe for backfire |publisher=MSNBC |url=https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/gop-stunt-to-smear-counter-intel-expert-strzok-ripe-for-backfire-1275196995963?playlist=associated}}</ref> By July 2015, he was serving as the section chief of the [[FBI Counterintelligence Division#Organization|Counterespionage Section]], a subordinate section of the FBI's [[FBI Counterintelligence Division|Counterintelligence Division]].<ref name="CNN changed description">{{Cite news |last1=Jarrett |first1=Laura |last2=Perez |first2=Evan |date=December 4, 2017 |title=FBI agent dismissed from Mueller probe changed Comey description of Clinton |work=[[CNN]] |url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/04/politics/peter-strzok-james-comey/index.html |access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref> In addition to leading the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation, Strzok also served on special counsel [[Robert Mueller]]'s investigative team until the Justice Department inspector general flagged critical text messages about President Trump Strzok had sent and received during the 2016 campaign. Probably most damaging was a text he sent to co-worker [[Lisa Page]], with whom he was conducting an extramarital affair. He sent Page the following text regarding a possible Trump election, "No. No he won't. We'll stop it."<ref name="Atlantic Article">{{cite web|website=Atlantic article on Strzok's congressional testimony|title=Traub, James, "The Peter Strzok Hearing and the Death of Shame/Decency Loses Its Moral Force"|date=July 18, 2018|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/07/have-they-no-sense-of-decency/565415/|publisher=The Atlantic Magazine|access-date=22 November 2020}}</ref> The text soon went public.<ref name="Independent Article">{{cite web|website=Independent article on Book|title=Spocchia, Geno, "Ex-FBI agent regularly targeted by Trump bringing out book about president's links to Russia"|date=July 28, 2020|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/peter-strzok-book-trump-russia-fbi-agent-compromised-a9642076.html|publisher=Independent|access-date=4 November 2020}}</ref>


Many believed the President and fellow Republicans overreacted to Strzok's blunder, as Trump once recklessly alleged Strzok and others in the FBI had plotted against his campaign and had even committed treason, though treason can be committed only by aiding an enemy of the United States such as Russia, not by offending a private American citizen, including the President.<ref name="Independent Article"/> Strzok filed a suit in August 2019 against the Bureau claiming they caved against "unrelenting pressure" from the Trump administration, and that he was "unfairly punished" for expressing his political opinions.<ref>Tucker, Eric, "Former FBI agent sues over firing due to anti-Trump texts", ''Albuquerque Journal'', pg. A6, August 7, 2020.</ref>
==Synopsis==
[[File:StrzokPeter.jpeg|upright=.75|left|thumb|Peter Strzok II<br>FBI photo]]
In August 2018, Strzok had risen to the office of Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's counterintelligence division, and was a recipient of the FBI's highest investigative honor, the Director's Award for Excellence, the Trump administration forced him out of the Bureau when he used several personal texts to express what he believed to be his private political opinions and views on the Trump administration in a manner that offended Donald Trump and ignited a storm of conservative media. During his investigation, Strzok became convinced that the President was under the influence of Vladimir Putin and/or representatives of the intelligence forces he controlled from the Kremlin.<ref name="Amazon Article">{{cite book|website=Amazon article on Book|title=Compromised|date=September 8, 2020|url=https://www.amazon.com/Compromised-Counterintelligence-Threat-Donald-Trump-ebook/dp/B084ZF5D65|publisher=Amazon|access-date=4 November 2020}}</ref>


== Premise ==
Despite accusations of widespread bias steering the nature of the counterintelligence investigation as a result of his ill-advised texts criticizing Trump, Strzok noted the Department of Justice's Inspector General (IG) ruled "there was no evidence that any investigative act was ruled by bias --". Despite the IG's ruling, Trump would Tweet, "Peter Strzok is a fraud, as is the rigged investigation he started."<ref>Strzok, Peter, (2020) ''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump'', Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 978-0-358-23706-8, pg. 298, and back cover for Trump's quote</ref>


Strzok's study of Trump's life, and his knowledge and observations as a leading counterintelligence agent in the FBI, led him to believe Trump was and is "''compromised''" and thus, wittingly or unwittingly, indebted to [[Vladimir Putin|Putin]]. He describes the many things (''[[kompromat]]'') Trump did and said before and during his presidency that made him vulnerable to blackmail and pressure from foreign adversaries. Strzok posits the question: "When a president appears to favor personal and Russian interests over those of our nation, has he become a national security threat?"<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1235125 "Ex-FBI agent Strzok due out with book about Trump, Russia"], [[Associated Press]] via [[NBC News]] (28 Jul 2020).</ref> He mentions one very public example related to [[Business projects of Donald Trump in Russia|Trump's business projects in Russia]] that created the necessary conditions for Trump to be [[Kompromat|compromised]]:<ref name="Lozada_9/5/2020">{{cite news | last=Lozada | first=Carlos | title=Review - He investigated Clinton and Trump. Then the Justice Department turned on him. | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=September 5, 2020 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/09/05/he-investigated-clinton-trump-then-justice-department-turned-him/ | access-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref>
===Strzok served with special counsel===
He served on special counsel [[Robert Mueller]]'s investigative team until the Justice Department inspector general flagged critical text messages about President Trump Strzok had sent and received during the 2016 campaign. Probably most damaging was a text he sent to co-worker [[Lisa Page]], with whom he was conducting an extramarital affair. He sent Page the following text regarding a possible Trump election, “No. No he won’t. We'll stop it.”<ref name="Atlantic Article">{{cite web|website=Atlantic article on Strzok's congressional testimony|title=Traub, James, "The Peter Strzok Hearing and the Death of Shame/Decency Loses Its Moral Force"|date=July 18, 2018|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/07/have-they-no-sense-of-decency/565415/|publisher=The Atlantic Magazine|access-date=22 November 2020}}</ref> This type of contact with the outside world is forbidden when serving with the FBI. As a partial defense, Strzok noted "Bureau policy allowed personal use of FBI smartphones, and most everyone I knew in the Bureau used their work phones to text or email friends and family...."<ref>Strzok, Peter, (2020) ''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 978-0-358-23706-8, pg. 285</ref> The text soon went public, and that the Republican party was on the cusp of a close and contentious election.<ref name="Independent Article">{{cite web|website=Independent article on Book|title=Spocchia, Geno, "Ex-FBI agent regularly targeted by Trump bringing out book about president's links to Russia"|date=July 28, 2020|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/peter-strzok-book-trump-russia-fbi-agent-compromised-a9642076.html|publisher=Independent|access-date=4 November 2020}}</ref> Many believed the President and fellow Republicans overreacted to Strzok's blunder, as Trump once recklessly alleged Strzok and others in the FBI had plotted against his campaign and had even committed treason, though treason can be committed only by aiding an enemy of the United States such as Russia, not by offending a private American citizen, including the President.<ref name="Independent Article"/> Strzok filed a suit in August 2019 against the Bureau claiming they caved against "unrelenting pressure" from the Trump administration, and that he was "unfairly punished" for expressing his political opinions.<ref>Tucker, Eric, "Former FBI agent sues over firing due to anti-Trump texts", ''Albuquerque Journal'', pg. A6, August 7, 2020.</ref>


{{blockquote|As candidate and again as president, Trump lied about his business ties with Russia. "The moment Trump said publicly, 'I have no business dealings with Russia,' he knew he was lying. Putin knew he was lying, and the FBI had reason to believe he was lying. But American citizens didn't know that." Strzok emphasizes, "In this moment Trump became compromised."}}
==Trump as a possible source of counterintelligence==
===Advancing Kremlin line===
Although his stated motives were to cut American spending, early in his administration Trump questioned America's participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and America's engagement in Western Europe, both of which have been seen by our allies as essential for their military protection from Russian expansion, including Russia's current interest in the Crimea and the Ukraine that in 2020 became a full scale invasion. Though previously approved by the Senate, Trump's refusal to give roughly ten million in military aid to the Ukrainian Prime Minister before he promised to investigate the alleged financial corruption of Hunter Biden, son of 2020 political opponent Joe Biden, may be seen to have temporarily benefitted the objectives of Russia in their military struggle against Ukraine and the Crimea. The aid was not provided to the Ukraine until Congress stepped in.<ref name="compromise">Strzok, Peter, (2020) ''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump'', Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 978-0-358-23706-8, pgs. xxx-xxxi</ref>


== Reception ==
===Stating there was no Russian interference===
⚫
[[Carlos Lozada (journalist)|Carlos Lozada]] of ''The Washington Post'' gave a favorable review, of a "compelling tale" but criticized the strength of Strzok's bias against Trump in some instances. Strzok considers Trump a liar who presided over a "heap of perfidy and treachery", a leader "gleefully wreaking havoc on America's political institutions and norms." But Lozada noted importantly that Strzok's description of Trump's being "compromised", did "not mean that the president received regular orders from Russia" or that he did Putin's bidding at Putin's immediate request. Strzok posited that the "compromised liar need not be told what to do ... It all unspools without anyone's ever having to say a word." Trump's extramarital affairs, his issues with his charitable Trump foundation, and his own questionable financial background, particularly the strong suspicion of tax evasion, also compromise him "badly and in a myriad of ways", Strzok contends. And, in turn, a compromised president pursued policies and adopted positions that Strzok sees as "highly suspicious, highly consistent, and highly advantageous to America's historic adversary (Russia)." Strzok, according to Lozada, still considered Trump's criminality as a grey area, however this view may be open to debate. When asked by Robert Mueller if Trump's behavior warranted a conspiracy, Lozada noted Strzok replied "I was skeptical that all the different threads amounted to anything more than bumbling incompetence." Strzok wrote "In my view they (Trump's staff) were most likely a collection of grifters pursuing individual personal interests."<ref name="Lozada_9/5/2020"/>
Prior to the 2016 election, and during his debates with Hillary Clinton, Trump advanced the theory that someone or some country other than Russia may have interfered with the 2016 election, despite James Comey's and later Robert Mueller's investigation clearly specifying the scope of Russia's interference in the election and Mueller's subsequent 2018 report that concluded and detailed the same. Trump's view that there was no Russian interference in the 2016 election was shared by Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin, and cable TV's Russia Today, a network under the influence of the Kremlin. Though American intelligence, particularly the findings of the Mueller investigation, later boldly conflicted with the stated view of the Kremlin in this instance, the Trump administration had made a statement that agreed with the Kremlin line. Even prior to Trump's inauguration in January 2017, on December 29, 2016, the Obama administration had sanctioned Russia for what American intelligence sources strongly concluded to be election interference. Despite the nature of the sanctions specifically stating concern about Russia's election interference, Michael Flynn, Trump's National Security Adviser, indicated to Russian Ambassador [[Sergey Kislyak]] the following day in a taped conversation, that Trump would likely ease the sanctions once in office. According to the testimony of Michael Cohen and other sources, Trump had his own financial interests in Russia and had formerly signed a letter of intent to develop the building provisionally named Trump World Tower Moscow, in October 2015, long before Flynn discussed the possibility of easing economic sanctions. Cohen maintained that he continued to take calls to obtain funding for the project the following year.<ref name="compromise"/>


[[Nicholas Fandos]] of ''The New York Times'' praised the book, and wrote "A former Army officer, Mr. Strzok . . . rose quickly through [the FBI's] ranks, earning a reputation within the bureau as one of its most savvy and reliable counterintelligence agents."<ref name="Fandos_7/12/2018">{{cite web | last=Fandos | first=Nicholas | title=F.B.I. Agent Defends Actions in Russia Inquiry in Contentious House Testimony | website=[[The New York Times]] | date=July 12, 2018 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/12/us/politics/fbi-agent-house-republicans.html | access-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref>
===Use of questionable information===
The Trump administration and other sources spread the theory that the "[[Steele dossier]]", a privately initiated and funded investigation largely of Russian influence in Donald Trump's 2016 campaign by a British intelligence officer, had initiated the American FBI's Russia investigation, and that the Steele Dossier was entirely false. Both statements were untrue according to Strzok and supported by the Mueller investigation. Strzok's investigation found that the Steele Dossier, though it contained useful information, "had very little to do with the bulk of the (Russia) investigation" conducted by Robert Mueller. According to Strzok, in his investigation of the Steele Dossier, which described several aspects of the Trump administration's working with Russian intelligence, "some things we could corroborate, a lesser number we could show were inaccurate, and with the vast majority we just couldn't say". Nonetheless, according to Strzok, the intelligence from Steele spawned numerous false conspiracy theories attempting to deliberately confuse the narrative, some coming from Russian trolls, and "sad to say the President himself". One of these conspiracy theories falsely claimed Joseph Mifsud was controlled and manipulated by the FBI. Mifsud was a Maltese Foreign minister, whom Trump campaign aid George Papadopoulos named as the source of the information that the Russians were sending dirt on Hillary Clinton to the Trump campaign, a claim found to in many ways be accurate by the Mueller investigation.<ref name="spying"/>


⚫
[[James Traub]] of ''The Atlantic'' strongly praised Strzok's sense of duty in conducting his counterintelligence investigation of Trump. Traub criticized congressional Republicans for attempting to use Strzok's extramarital affair with Lisa Page and poorly timed text as a way of destroying his credibility, while overlooking the relevance and importance of his investigation and service to his country. When asked by Texas Congressman [[Ted Poe]] in a congressional oversight hearing how he could conduct an honest and unbiased investigation after texting that he would stop Trump from winning the election, Strzok replied "A judge asks jurors, 'Are you able to set aside your personal opinions and render a judgment based on the facts?' and I and the men and women of the FBI every day take our personal beliefs and set them aside in vigorous pursuit of the truth wherever it lies." Poe replied to Strzok, "I don't believe you".<ref name="Atlantic Article"/>
Another controversial theory widely distributed by the Trump administration and diverse media, which is still believed by many today, involved the use of a wiretap that "was installed at Trump Tower to spy on the campaign", likely by Obama and the Democratic opposition. According to Strzok and other FBI sources, "it wasn't". In early June 2018, as detailed by Strzok, a fringe "news" website claimed that "the FBI had "initiated multiple spies in the Trump campaign in 2015". Though this was inaccurate according to the FBI, Trump tweeted about it claiming "a counter-intelligence operation into the Trump campaign dating way back to December 2015. Spygate is in full force! Is the Mainstream Media interested yet? Big stuff!" According to FBI manager Strzok, this claim was "in fact wildly false", as the FBI determined they had not investigated Trump in 2015, nor installed a wiretap in Trump tower.<ref name="spying">Strzok, Peter, (2020) ''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 978-0-358-23706-8, Chapter 8, pgs. 147-51</ref>


⚫
Lloyd Green of the ''Guardian'', who did opposition research for the political campaign of [[George H. W. Bush]] in 1988, also considered the book "compelling reading", but fundamentally disagreed with Strzok's assertion that Trump's "willingness to accept political assistance from an opponent like Russia – and it follows, his willingness to subvert everything that America stands for." He notes that Strzok believed "Our investigations revealed Donald Trump's willingness to further the malign interests of one of our most formidable adversaries, apparently for his own personal gain." Green doles out some criticism of the FBI investigation of Michael Flynn as Strzok appears somewhat contradictory in his evaluation of Flynn as cooperative in demeanor but "repeatedly and inexplicably" lying on other issues. Green most strongly criticized Strzok for his glossing over his extensive and ultimately destructive relationship with Lisa Page, as they were believed to have sent over 20,000 emails to each other, including those used to show he had a bias against Trump.<ref>{{cite web|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|author=Green, Lloyd|title=Compromised review: Peter Strzok on Trump, Russia and the FBI|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/20/compromised-review-peter-strzok-donald-trump-russia-fbi?ref=hvper.com/|language=en-GB|date=September 20, 2020|access-date=July 23, 2023}}</ref>
===Election interference may have been invited===
In July 2016, Trump made a televised statement which requested that Russia hack Hillary Clinton's email, though it required illegally breaking into the Democratic National Committee's private server, and though according to the FBI, the request itself was illegal as it sought foreign aid to benefit a particular candidate in an election.<ref name="Russia hacking"/> As noted by Strzok, according to the Mueller report, people connected to Trump's campaign coordinated with WikiLeaks to expedite the release of email stolen by the Russian's to help his campaign, including the Clinton's emails. Trump's repeated accusations in the summer of 2016 that Clinton had committed a crime for which she should be imprisoned (putting confidential emails on a private server), (though Clinton was never found guilty of a crime after Strzok's thorough FBI investigation) likely damaged Clinton's support from the American electorate.<ref>Strzok, Peter, (2020) ''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump'', Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 978-0-358-23706-8, Chapter 5, pg. 82</ref>


⚫
== See also ==
====Trump Jr. may have solicited Russian interference====
On June 9, 2016, Donald Trump Jr., and Paul Manafort, met with [[Rob Goldstone]], a British tabloid journalist and several Russians including Natalia Vesselnitskaya, a Kremlin-connected lawyer. Trump Jr. claimed that Russian adoption of children was the primary topic of discussion. However, other topics may have been discussed, and only a month later in July, Donald Trump Jr. released on Twitter a series of email messages that included an exchange where Rob Goldstone, who had requested the Trump Tower meeting on June 7, 2016, offered to "provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary", which contained very "high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump". In what many in the FBI, including Strzok, believed to have been soliciting the Russians to send compromising information, Trump Jr. responded, "If its what you say I love it, especially later in the summer". The email had clearly stated that the damaging information on Hillary Clinton was being provided by the Russian government, a conceivable violation of campaign law that prevents receiving opposition research or other political aid from a foreign country.<ref>Strzok, Peter, (2020) ''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump'', Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 978-0-358-23706-8, Chapter 14, pg. 276-7</ref>


===Trump's accusations against Hillary Clinton===
Trump's statements in the summer of 2016 accusing Clinton of a crime for her use of confidential emails could have been responsible for a drop of roughly 1% of her National support in the polls. This would have significantly influenced the outcome of the historically close 2016 election. James Comey admitted publicly to reopening the investigation of Clinton's emails, in an ill-advised press conference only a few days before the election may also have led to a significant drop in Clinton's polling, and may have furthered the objectives of the Russian GRU who, according to the Mueller investigation, had hacked the e-mails months earlier before they found their way to WikiLeaks, a publication that made such information available to the public.<ref name="Comey announcement of emails">{{cite web|website=ABC News|title=Pecorin, Allison, "Comey made announcement on Clinton email probe days before election to give himself 'cover': Trump spokesperson"|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/comey-announced-reopening-clinton-email-probe-days-election/story?id=54470601|publisher=ABC|access-date=November 4, 2020}}</ref><ref name="compromise"/> When the FBI investigation under Strzok concluded that nothing was criminal in Clinton's actions, the Trump campaign made no reference to the statement, nor retracted their assertion that Clinton had committed a crime, rather repeatedly pushing the line that, although found innocent of a crime, Clinton had gotten a "sweet" deal from the FBI.<ref>Russia definitely hacked the Clinton emails in June of 2016 in Strzok, Peter, (2020) ''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 978-0-358-23706-8, Chapter 5, pg. 82</ref><ref name="Russia hacking">Russia began investigating Hillary Clinton's private emails immediately after Trump's request to do so in July in Weissmann, Andrew (2020) ''Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation''. Random House, New York, pgs. 218-220</ref>

===Appearing to deny business dealings with Russia===
On January 10, 2017, Buzzfeed first published some of the [[Steele dossier]] online. Misleadingly, considering he was simultaneously conducting business for a Trump Tower to be built in Moscow, Trump tweeted, "I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA -- NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!"<ref name="sanctions"/>

===Misleading statements by Sessions===
That same week, Trump appointee Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in his confirmation hearings erroneously claimed "I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign (2016) and I didn't have--did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it." Not long after Sessions recused himself from all aspects of the Russian investigation after evidence was shown that he'd had at least two meetings with Russians, both strongly suspected of having ties to the Kremlin, during the campaign. Though a staunch and longtime Trump supporter, Sessions was later fired by Trump, for what many, including Strzok, believe was his reticence to put pressure on Mueller and the direction of the Russia investigation.<ref name="sanctions">Strzok, Peter, (2020) ''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump'', Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 978-0-358-23706-8, Chapter 10, pg. 196-9</ref>

===Removing Russian sanctions===
[[File:Michael T Flynn.jpg|upright=.8|left|thumb|Michael Flynn]]
On December 29, 2016, prior to the inauguration, Trump's National Security Adviser [[Michael Flynn]] spoke twice by phone with Russian diplomat [[Sergai Kislyak]], and it was recorded on tape that he had discussed the possibility of relaxing the economic sanctions imposed by President Obama against Russia. The discussion might be considered of questionable legality as Trump did not yet formally hold office, and the 1799 Logan Act forbid non-government entities from conducting foreign negotiations on behalf of the United States. Relaxing sanctions aroused more suspicion by certain members of Strzok's FBI investigation because the action conflicted with a standing policy of the reigning Presidential administration, and because the Trump administration was known to have economic and political ties with Russia through the previous actions of campaign manager Paul Manafort to elect a Ukrainian President sympathetic to Russian interests, and Trump's ongoing negotiations to obtain a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Perhaps most importantly, Obama's sanctions were primarily a response to Putin and Russia's interference in the 2016 election which most analysts clearly believed benefitted the Trump campaign, a fact Trump party loyalists never mentioned. Strzok and members of his investigative team believed the discussion of Trump's intent to remove such sanctions may have signaled to many in Russian intelligence that their interference in America's future elections, the cornerstone of American Democracy, would be tolerated by the United States. Flynn covered his oversight by denying he had discussed sanctions in a statement to vice-president elect Pence, and when his lie was discovered, he was fired from office.

In his professional role as an FBI investigator, Strzok speculated Trump himself had ordered Flynn to discuss the removal of sanctions as it was Trump's formerly stated intent to do so. As National Security Adviser, Flynn had the highest security clearance available, another reason why all his actions with regards to Russia, already a military adversary of the United States in the Crimea, would need to be met with considerable caution, and watched carefully by American intelligence. The Trump administration had previously discussed the possibility of removing economic sanctions on Russia, an action that Strzok believed could possibly be interpreted as an attempt to align themselves with the objectives of wealthy Russian oligarchs and the Russian government under Putin.<ref name="sanctions"/>

===Contacts with Russian intelligence===
[[File:Viktor Yanukovych 27 April 2010-1.jpeg|upright=.4|right|thumb|Yanukovych, 2010]]
[[Konstantin Kilimnik]], Manafort's former employer who according to the FBI had close ties to Russian intelligence and the GRU. Both Manafort and Rick Gates had met with Kilimnik on several occasions, providing him with critical poling data on the battleground states in the 2016 election. [[Viktor Yanukovych]], a 2010 Ukrainian President of Russian birth was accused of corruption and voting fraud during his administration. After fleeing the Ukraine for Russia in 2014, Yanukovych was accused of "mass killings of civilians" by his successor. Yanukovych was backed by Russia in 2010 and Manafort had played an important role in managing his campaigns with the aid of Kilimnik. Yanukovych was strongly backed by Eastern Ukraine, a region that was close to Russia both geographically and politically. Russia needed Ukraine to transport its oil and gas to Europe, but Ukraine depended on Russia for nearly all of its energy needs. According to Strzok, under Yanukovych, a leader who never had American support, Russia enjoyed de facto control of Ukraine, and funneled him millions in bribes to control his favor.<ref>Strzok, Peter, (2020) ''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump'', Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 978-0-358-23706-8, pgs. 300-301</ref>

Also present was Sergei Millian, a United States citizen of Belarusian descent, who had attempted to land a job with Trump campaign aid [[George Papadopoulos]]. Strzok's investigations led to charging Papadopoulos with having lied to the FBI about the timing and extent of his contact with a professor who promised to connect him to high Russian officials. Papadopoulos was one of the first Trump campaign aids to be investigated. After serving only twelve days in jail, he later wrote a book claiming Strzok's investigation was part of a conspiracy to depose Trump. Trump and certain media would eventually have success claiming Strzok's counterintelligence investigation was a conspiracy to depose Trump, and variously an act of treason, as a [[Deep State]] operative seeking to destroy Trump, or a coup to depose Trump.<ref name="sanctions"/>

==Authoritarian regimes==
[[File:Dr. Mark T. Esper – Secretary of Defense.jpg|upright=.4|left|thumb|Dr. Mark Esper, 2019]]
Strzok observed that attempts to discredit media could be attributed to Trump's accusing the American press of being an "enemy of the people", and his frequently labeling well-researched media reports from a multitude of newspapers, including the award-winning ''The New York Times'' and ''The Washington Post'', as "fake news".<ref name="compromise"/>
[[File:William Barr.jpg|upright=.4|right|thumb|William Barr]]
Strzok oberved that Trump's reliance on his carefully selected attorney general, [[William Barr]], head of the Justice Department, to mold the public's perceptions of the Mueller report, above the protests of its chief prosecutor [[Andrew Weissmann]], and its special counsel former FBI director Robert Mueller, could be viewed as an attempt to co-opt the power of the justice system by appointing an attorney general whom he knew in advance would likely protect his administration from criticism, investigation, or indictment by the FBI. And most significantly, though Strzok's book was published months before the election, Trump's refusal to concede the presidency to President-elect Joseph Biden after the 2020 election and his legally questionable use of the courts to further this goal could be seen as an attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power, partly by co-opting the power of the judicial system. By influencing Republican election officials in battleground states to make pointless recounts or delay the final certification of votes due to what American courts repeatedly ruled as evidence-less claims of fraud, Trump could be seen as attempting to co-opt the power of election officials, and the rightful power of the American electorate in a Democracy. When Attorney General Barr made a statement after the 2020 election that he believed widespread voter fraud had not occurred in the 2020 election, Trump allegedly pressured him to resign. An argument could be made that this action again coopted the power of the American judicial system.<ref name="intro">Strzok, Peter, (2020) ''Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 978-0-358-23706-8, pg. xxiii</ref>

==Critical reviews==
⚫
Carlos Lozada of ''The Washington Post'' gave a favorable review, of a "compelling tale" but criticized the strength of Strzok's bias against Trump in some instances. Strzok considers Trump a liar who presided over a "heap of perfidy and treachery", a leader "gleefully wreaking havoc on America's political institutions and norms." But Lozada noted importantly that Strzok's description of Trump's being "compromised", did "not mean that the president received regular orders from Russia" or that he did Putin's bidding at Putin's immediate request. Strzok posited that the "compromised liar need not be told what to do ... It all unspools without anyone's ever having to say a word." Trump's extramarital affairs, his issues with his charitable Trump foundation, and his own questionable financial background, particularly the strong suspicion of tax evasion, also compromise him "badly and in a myriad of ways", Strzok contends. And, in turn, a compromised president pursued policies and adopted positions that Strzok sees as "highly suspicious, highly consistent, and highly advantageous to America's historic adversary (Russia)."<ref name="Washington Post">{{cite web|website=Washington Post|author=Lozada, Carlos|title="He investigated Clinton and Trump. Then the Justice Department turned on him."|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/09/05/he-investigated-clinton-trump-then-justice-department-turned-him/|access-date=4 November 2020}}</ref> Strzok, according to Lozada, still considered Trump's criminality as a grey area, however this view may be open to debate. When asked by Robert Mueller if Trump's behavior warranted a conspiracy, Lozada noted Strzok replied "I was skeptical that all the different threads amounted to anything more than bumbling incompetence,”. Strzok wrote "In my view they (Trump's staff) were most likely a collection of grifters pursuing individual personal interests."<ref name="Washington Post"/> [[Nicholas Fandos]] of ''The New York Times'' praised the book, and wrote "A former Army officer, Mr. Strzok . . . rose quickly through [the FBI's] ranks, earning a reputation within the bureau as one of its most savvy and reliable counterintelligence agents."<ref name="Amazon Article"/>

⚫
James Traub of ''The Atlantic'' strongly praised Strzok's sense of duty in conducting his counterintelligence investigation of Trump. Traub criticized congressional Republicans for attempting to use Strzok's extramarital affair with Lisa Page and poorly timed text as a way of destroying his credibility, while overlooking the relevance and importance of his investigation and service to his country. When asked by Texas Congressman [[Ted Poe]] in a congressional oversight hearing how he could conduct an honest and unbiased investigation after texting that he would stop Trump from winning the election, Strzok replied "A judge asks jurors, 'Are you able to set aside your personal opinions and render a judgment based on the facts?’ and I and the men and women of the FBI every day take our personal beliefs and set them aside in vigorous pursuit of the truth wherever it lies." Poe replied to Strzok, "I don't believe you".<ref name="Atlantic Article"/>

⚫
Lloyd Green of the ''Guardian'', who did opposition research for the political campaign of [[George H. W. Bush]] in 1988, also considered the book "compelling reading", and observed Strzok's discovery of Trump's “willingness to accept political assistance from an opponent like Russia – and it follows, his willingness to subvert everything that America stands for.” He notes that Strozok believed "Our investigations revealed Donald Trump's willingness to further the malign interests of one of our most formidable adversaries, apparently for his own personal gain." Green doles out some criticism of the FBI investigation of Michael Flynn as Strozok appears somewhat contradictory in his evaluation of Flynn as cooperative in demeanor but "repeatedly and inexplicably" lying on other issues. Green most strongly criticized Strzok for his glossing over his extensive and ultimately destructive relationship with Lisa Page, as they were believed to have sent over 20,000 emails to each other, including those used to show he had a bias against Trump.<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite web|website=The Guardian review of Book|title=Green, LLoyd, "Compromised review: Peter Strzok on Trump, Russia and the FBI"|date=September 20, 2020|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/20/compromised-review-peter-strzok-donald-trump-russia-fbi?ref=hvper.com/|access-date=November 4, 2020}}</ref>

⚫
==See also==
{{Portal|Russia|United States}}
{{Portal|Russia|United States}}
* [[Hillary Clinton email controversy]]
* [[Hillary Clinton email controversy]]
* [[Peter Strzok]]
* ''[[The Case for Impeachment]]''
* ''[[The Case for Impeachment]]''
* ''[[Dezinformatsia (book)|Dezinformatsia: Active Measures in Soviet Strategy]]''
* ''[[Dezinformatsia (book)|Dezinformatsia: Active Measures in Soviet Strategy]]''

Revision as of 03:54, 5 March 2024

Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump
First edition cover
AuthorPeter Strzok
Cover artistBrian Moore
SpracheEnglisch
SubjectInvestigates the administration of Donald J. Trump as a source of Russian intelligence
GenreNonfiction
PublisherHoughton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date
September 8, 2020
Publication placeUSA
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages350
ISBN978-0-358-23706-8
Trump–Russia relations
Business interactions
Russian election interference
Investigations and reports
Menschen
Deception and conspiracy theories
Literature
Kategorien

Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump is a 2020 non-fiction book authored by former FBI agent Peter Strzok.[1][2] As Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI counterintelligence division, Strzok led the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation of alleged Russian influence upon President Donald Trump and Trump's 2016 campaign. Strzok's book recaps the full arc of the investigation[3] and portrays Trump as profoundly corrupt, and a serious threat to national security.[4]

Author's background

Peter Strzok had been a lead agent in the FBI's "Operation Ghost Stories" against Andrey Bezrukov and Yelena Vavilova, a Russian spy couple who were part of the Illegals Program, a network of Russian sleeper agents who were arrested in 2010.[5] By July 2015, he was serving as the section chief of the Counterespionage Section, a subordinate section of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division.[6] In addition to leading the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation, Strzok also served on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigative team until the Justice Department inspector general flagged critical text messages about President Trump Strzok had sent and received during the 2016 campaign. Probably most damaging was a text he sent to co-worker Lisa Page, with whom he was conducting an extramarital affair. He sent Page the following text regarding a possible Trump election, "No. No he won't. We'll stop it."[7] The text soon went public.[8]

Many believed the President and fellow Republicans overreacted to Strzok's blunder, as Trump once recklessly alleged Strzok and others in the FBI had plotted against his campaign and had even committed treason, though treason can be committed only by aiding an enemy of the United States such as Russia, not by offending a private American citizen, including the President.[8] Strzok filed a suit in August 2019 against the Bureau claiming they caved against "unrelenting pressure" from the Trump administration, and that he was "unfairly punished" for expressing his political opinions.[9]

Premise

Strzok's study of Trump's life, and his knowledge and observations as a leading counterintelligence agent in the FBI, led him to believe Trump was and is "compromised" and thus, wittingly or unwittingly, indebted to Putin. He describes the many things (kompromat) Trump did and said before and during his presidency that made him vulnerable to blackmail and pressure from foreign adversaries. Strzok posits the question: "When a president appears to favor personal and Russian interests over those of our nation, has he become a national security threat?"[10] He mentions one very public example related to Trump's business projects in Russia that created the necessary conditions for Trump to be compromised:[11]

As candidate and again as president, Trump lied about his business ties with Russia. "The moment Trump said publicly, 'I have no business dealings with Russia,' he knew he was lying. Putin knew he was lying, and the FBI had reason to believe he was lying. But American citizens didn't know that." Strzok emphasizes, "In this moment Trump became compromised."

Reception

Carlos Lozada of The Washington Post gave a favorable review, of a "compelling tale" but criticized the strength of Strzok's bias against Trump in some instances. Strzok considers Trump a liar who presided over a "heap of perfidy and treachery", a leader "gleefully wreaking havoc on America's political institutions and norms." But Lozada noted importantly that Strzok's description of Trump's being "compromised", did "not mean that the president received regular orders from Russia" or that he did Putin's bidding at Putin's immediate request. Strzok posited that the "compromised liar need not be told what to do ... It all unspools without anyone's ever having to say a word." Trump's extramarital affairs, his issues with his charitable Trump foundation, and his own questionable financial background, particularly the strong suspicion of tax evasion, also compromise him "badly and in a myriad of ways", Strzok contends. And, in turn, a compromised president pursued policies and adopted positions that Strzok sees as "highly suspicious, highly consistent, and highly advantageous to America's historic adversary (Russia)." Strzok, according to Lozada, still considered Trump's criminality as a grey area, however this view may be open to debate. When asked by Robert Mueller if Trump's behavior warranted a conspiracy, Lozada noted Strzok replied "I was skeptical that all the different threads amounted to anything more than bumbling incompetence." Strzok wrote "In my view they (Trump's staff) were most likely a collection of grifters pursuing individual personal interests."[11]

Nicholas Fandos of The New York Times praised the book, and wrote "A former Army officer, Mr. Strzok . . . rose quickly through [the FBI's] ranks, earning a reputation within the bureau as one of its most savvy and reliable counterintelligence agents."[12]

James Traub of The Atlantic strongly praised Strzok's sense of duty in conducting his counterintelligence investigation of Trump. Traub criticized congressional Republicans for attempting to use Strzok's extramarital affair with Lisa Page and poorly timed text as a way of destroying his credibility, while overlooking the relevance and importance of his investigation and service to his country. When asked by Texas Congressman Ted Poe in a congressional oversight hearing how he could conduct an honest and unbiased investigation after texting that he would stop Trump from winning the election, Strzok replied "A judge asks jurors, 'Are you able to set aside your personal opinions and render a judgment based on the facts?' and I and the men and women of the FBI every day take our personal beliefs and set them aside in vigorous pursuit of the truth wherever it lies." Poe replied to Strzok, "I don't believe you".[7]

Lloyd Green of the Guardian, who did opposition research for the political campaign of George H. W. Bush in 1988, also considered the book "compelling reading", but fundamentally disagreed with Strzok's assertion that Trump's "willingness to accept political assistance from an opponent like Russia – and it follows, his willingness to subvert everything that America stands for." He notes that Strzok believed "Our investigations revealed Donald Trump's willingness to further the malign interests of one of our most formidable adversaries, apparently for his own personal gain." Green doles out some criticism of the FBI investigation of Michael Flynn as Strzok appears somewhat contradictory in his evaluation of Flynn as cooperative in demeanor but "repeatedly and inexplicably" lying on other issues. Green most strongly criticized Strzok for his glossing over his extensive and ultimately destructive relationship with Lisa Page, as they were believed to have sent over 20,000 emails to each other, including those used to show he had a bias against Trump.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction". The New York Times. September 27, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "Washington Post hardcover bestsellers". The Washington Post. September 16, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Bertrand, Natasha. "Peter Strzok would like to clear a few things up", Politico (5 Sep 2020): Strzok "led the FBI's Russia investigation, dubbed Crossfire Hurricane….Strzok's new book, obtained by POLITICO ahead of its release next week, recaps the full arc of Crossfire Hurricane…."
  4. ^ Goldman, Adam (September 5, 2020). "Ex-F.B.I. Agent in Russia Inquiry Says Trump Is a National Security Threat". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "GOP stunt to smear counter-intel expert Strzok ripe for backfire". MSNBC. July 11, 2018.
  6. ^ Jarrett, Laura; Perez, Evan (December 4, 2017). "FBI agent dismissed from Mueller probe changed Comey description of Clinton". CNN. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Traub, James, "The Peter Strzok Hearing and the Death of Shame/Decency Loses Its Moral Force"". Atlantic article on Strzok's congressional testimony. The Atlantic Magazine. July 18, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Spocchia, Geno, "Ex-FBI agent regularly targeted by Trump bringing out book about president's links to Russia"". Independent article on Book. Independent. July 28, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  9. ^ Tucker, Eric, "Former FBI agent sues over firing due to anti-Trump texts", Albuquerque Journal, pg. A6, August 7, 2020.
  10. ^ "Ex-FBI agent Strzok due out with book about Trump, Russia", Associated Press via NBC News (28 Jul 2020).
  11. ^ a b Lozada, Carlos (September 5, 2020). "Review - He investigated Clinton and Trump. Then the Justice Department turned on him". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  12. ^ Fandos, Nicholas (July 12, 2018). "F.B.I. Agent Defends Actions in Russia Inquiry in Contentious House Testimony". The New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  13. ^ Green, Lloyd (September 20, 2020). "Compromised review: Peter Strzok on Trump, Russia and the FBI". The Guardian. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
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