Tranquillus in Exile
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MI6 chiefs are secretly battling Donald Trump to stop him publishing classified information linked to the Russian election meddling investigation.
The UK is warning that the US president would undermine intelligence gathering if he releases pages of an FBI application to wiretap one of his former campaign advisers.
However Trump allies are fighting back, demanding transparency and asking why Britain would oppose the move unless it had something to hide.
It forces the spotlight on whether the UK played a role in the FBI's investigation launched before the 2016 presidential election into Trump campaign ties to the Kremlin.
The Telegraph has talked to more than a dozen UK and US officials, including in American intelligence, who have revealed details about the row. British spy chiefs have “genuine concern” about sources being exposed if classified parts of the wiretap request were made public, according to figures familiar with discussions.
<snip>
The row is about an FBI request to wiretap Carter Page, a former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, which was made in October 2016 - the month before the US election. The FBI said it had suspicions Mr Page was being targeted for recruitment by the Russian government and cited classified intelligence to make its case.
The agency was granted approval for 90 days of surveillance by a secret court established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [Fisa]. It was renewed a number of times.
Mr Trump wants to declassify 21 pages from one of the applications. He announced the move in September, then backtracked, then this month said he was "very seriously" considering it again. Both Britain and Australia are understood to be opposing the move.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...donald-trump-release-classified-russia-probe/
Trump's masterly diplomacy has already p'd off Canada, now he just has to do New Zealand and it's a full house - the Five Eyes.
The UK is warning that the US president would undermine intelligence gathering if he releases pages of an FBI application to wiretap one of his former campaign advisers.
However Trump allies are fighting back, demanding transparency and asking why Britain would oppose the move unless it had something to hide.
It forces the spotlight on whether the UK played a role in the FBI's investigation launched before the 2016 presidential election into Trump campaign ties to the Kremlin.
The Telegraph has talked to more than a dozen UK and US officials, including in American intelligence, who have revealed details about the row. British spy chiefs have “genuine concern” about sources being exposed if classified parts of the wiretap request were made public, according to figures familiar with discussions.
<snip>
The row is about an FBI request to wiretap Carter Page, a former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, which was made in October 2016 - the month before the US election. The FBI said it had suspicions Mr Page was being targeted for recruitment by the Russian government and cited classified intelligence to make its case.
The agency was granted approval for 90 days of surveillance by a secret court established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [Fisa]. It was renewed a number of times.
Mr Trump wants to declassify 21 pages from one of the applications. He announced the move in September, then backtracked, then this month said he was "very seriously" considering it again. Both Britain and Australia are understood to be opposing the move.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...donald-trump-release-classified-russia-probe/
Trump's masterly diplomacy has already p'd off Canada, now he just has to do New Zealand and it's a full house - the Five Eyes.
