Donald Trump could be viewed as a Russian asset, according to former FBI director Andrew McCabe, whom the ex-president fired during his first term. McCabe, speaking on the One Decision podcast co-hosted by former British intelligence chief Sir Richard Dearlove, shared his concerns about Trump’s actions toward Russia and Vladimir Putin.
When asked directly if he thought Trump could be considered a Russian asset, McCabe responded, “I do, I do,” as reported by The Guardian. However, McCabe clarified that he did not necessarily believe Trump was an “active, recruited, knowing asset” in the traditional intelligence sense, but pointed to the many reasons to question Trump’s approach to Russia.
“I do think that Donald Trump has given us many reasons to question his approach to the Russia problem in the United States,” McCabe explained. “His approach to interacting with Vladimir Putin, be it phone calls, face-to-face meetings, the things that he has said in public about Putin, all raise significant questions.”
McCabe has harbored concerns about Trump’s stance on Russia since he was fired just two days before his planned retirement in March 2018. His termination came during the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. McCabe particularly noted Trump’s puzzling admiration for Putin, as well as his questionable actions regarding Ukraine and NATO in the face of Russian aggression.
“You have to have some very serious questions about, why is it that Donald Trump … has this fawning sort of admiration for Vladimir Putin in a way that no other American president, Republican or Democrat, ever has,” McCabe remarked. He suggested that Trump’s behavior could stem from either a deep misunderstanding of the complexities of the U.S.-Russia relationship or a more concerning personal or business interest.
“It’s always a possibility… there is some kind of relationship or a desire for a relationship of some sort, be it economic or business-oriented,” McCabe said, adding that none of these possibilities had been proven but were worth considering from an intelligence perspective.
McCabe expressed “very serious concerns” about the possibility of a second Trump presidency, pointing to Russia’s long-standing efforts to interfere with U.S. democracy. He explained that Russia’s goal has always been to sow “chaos and division,” and they’ve succeeded when they can “hurt a candidate they don’t like, or help one that they do like.”
Despite facing allegations of lying about a media leak, McCabe’s case was dropped in 2020, and he later settled a lawsuit in 2021 that restored his full pension.