The shameful -- some say treasonous -- the spectacle of the president of the United States spouting sedition and debasing himself by the side of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is confirming fears Donald Trump is being blackmailed by Russia.
Worse, it seems to prove Trump might actually be a Russian spy.
Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking Democratic Party member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, called Trump the "gravest threat to American democracy" he's ever seen. This stunning rebuke follows the treasonous Helsinki summit where Trump undeniably proved his loyalties lie with Putin and not with the United States.
At Helsinki, Trump showed he was "prepared to essentially betray the national security interests of the United States," said Schiff.
He said of the terrible realizations of the last year and a half for him was that the damage the Russians inflicted on American democracy by meddling in the presidential election is nothing compared to the damage Trump is doing to American democracy by attacking the Justice Department and by denigrating the free press. "I think he is doing enormous damage to our national security beyond anything the Russians could do to us."
Schiff said it's quite possible the Russians have compromising material on Trump. It might also be true the Russians are laundering money through Trump's businesses. In terms of the United States and our national security and our interests, what matters most is the president's actions. And he is acting like someone compromised."
Schiff's attack joins a consensus by the U.S. intelligence community that Putin did exert extraordinary control over Trump at Helsinki. One intelligence veteran and former CIA spy said he wasn't surprised by Trump's meekness towards Putin because "it's becoming more and more clear that Trump is either a witting or unwitting Russian asset."
The growing speculation Trump is either a compromised soy or a willing spy came in the wake of the dumbfounding press conference at Helsinki at which Trump spent more time blasting his political foes and the U.S. intelligence community than he did Russia, which is American's main enemy.
Asked if he held Russia accountable for anything, Trump stunned observers when he said he held "both countries responsible" for the deterioration in U.S.-Russia relations. He said Putin "was extremely strong and powerful in his denial" of Russian meddling.
Robert Deitz, a former top lawyer at the CIA and the National Security Agency, said he was "beyond shocked" to hear Trump's comments.
"We're all sort of used to Trump by now, and you say to yourself that we've gone as low as we can, and then you see what he said, and it's so much worse than you'd think," said Deitz. "Doing this in front of a foreign leader -- and that too is someone who's an adversary and not an ally -- is unimaginable."
Glenn Carle, a long-time former CIA spy, said he wasn't the least bit surprised by Trump's actions because it's becoming more and more clear that Trump is either a witting or unwitting Russian asset.
"Intelligence assets become convinced to be spies for multiple reasons. It might start with kompromat or financial hooks, and the asset may be convinced he is acting as a patriot until he becomes accustomed to his role," said Carle.
