As the American presidential election takes place on November 5, a documentary produced by journalist Antoine Vitkine looks at the troubled relationship between Donald Trump and Russia.
“If I’m in Moscow, and I’m looking to get my hands on an influential businessman, Trump was an obvious choice. Plus, he was a womanizer. A perfect target,” explains Jack Barsky, a former Russian spy who infiltrated the United States in the 1980s, in a documentary entitled Operation Trump – Russian spies conquering America,directed by Antoine Vitkine and broadcast Sunday 20 October at 9:05 p.m. on France 5.
Constructed as a political film, this investigative documentary raises the question of Russian influence on American politics, questions the relationship between the Republican right and the Kremlin and relates the evolution of Vladimir Putin within the KGB.
But the film also explains, thanks to the testimonies of aformer agents of the CIA, FBI and KGB or even former Trump advisors, how the American businessman came into the crosshairs of the Soviet intelligence services in the early 1980s. The film goes back to the roots of the relations between the young Donald Trump and the Soviet authorities. It also explores the billionaire’s ties to members of the Russian mafia.
In 1981, the Republican Ronald Reagan was elected president of the United States and did not hide his deep hostility towards the Soviet Union, in the midst of the Cold War. The USSR, dominated economically and militarily by its great rival, takes a dim view of the advent of a pure and hardline conservative in the White House. The KGB then chose to intensify its infiltration operations in the country and innovated its methods. : he decides to target more specifically the American right and rich businessmen.
General Oleg Kalugin, who was the head of foreign intelligence of the KGB in the United States from 1974 to 1990, confirms this in the documentary : “When I was in the KGB, businessmen were very important because they had access to technology or had connections related to their financial situation.” Russian secret services go so far as to draw up a list of characteristics that undercover agents look for in their future prey : “Arrogance, selfishness, ambition or vanity.” “Qualities” that young Donald Trump seems to possess.
In 1983, the future American president was a flamboyant real estate developer hungry for light and to whom everything seemed to succeed. The construction of his Trump Tower, skyscraper of 58 floors in the heart of Manhattan in New York, established his notoriety and projected him onto the media scene. But his empire is actually very in debt.
“He had suffered losses with his casinos and other bankrupt businesses. So he desperately needed another source of funding. At the time, Russian oligarchs sought to diversify their investments (…) and Donald Trump needed this money. reports, in the film, Kenneth McCallion, anti-mafia prosecutor in New York from 1978 to 1992, who was investigating the American tycoon at the time. The young entrepreneur then finds himself forced to do business with Russian mafiosi.
“So in Trump Tower, about a third of the apartments were sold to people linked to Russian organized crime. They literally paid for the apartments in cash. Bags of cash were exchanged during the negotiations.”
In the documentary “Operation Trump – Russian spies conquering America”
These dangerous connections with the mafia weaken Donald Trump and represent a boon for the Russian authorities, who decide to approach him through the daughter of the USSR ambassador to the United States.
Donald Trump, a perfect target for the KGB
An eye-opening documentary reveals how Donald Trump was approached by Russian intelligence services in the 1980s and how he aligned himself with Vladimir Putin’s positions.
(Patricia Boutinard Rouelle and Marianne Jestaz – Nilaya Productions)
In 1987, Donald Trump was invited to Moscow through a tourist agency controlled by the KGB, which promised him the construction of a hotel in Moscow. “The golden rule: we must find something that links us in a positive way to the person”, explains Sergei Jirnov, former KGB officer from 1984 to 1990.
Donald Trump, who dreams of building a Trump Tower in the Russian capital, accepts the invitation, at the risk of increased surveillance by the KGB. The idea that Russian secret services compiled, at that time, a compromising file on Donald Trump seems more than likely. “I wouldn’t rule it out.Oleg Kalugin cautiously confides in the film. I won’t give details, but in my own experience, all foreigners, especially those from the United States and NATO countries, were monitored.”
The documentary Operation Trump – Russian spies conquering America, directed by Antoine Vitkine, is broadcast Sunday October 20 at 9:05 p.m. on France 5 on the france.tv platform.
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