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Dead Drop: November 17

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“CONSIDERING THE SOURCE”: Retired DNI Jim Clapper told an agent for the Dead Drop what it’s like to be called a “political hack” by President Donald Trump. In case you missed it, the President speaking to reporters on Air Force One enroute to Hanoi defended his sympathetic take on Vladimir Putin’s denial that the Russians interfered with the U.S. election. In doing so, the president, without prompting, said it wasn’t 17 American intelligence agencies who blamed the Russians … “Well, it's three. And one is Brennan and one is whatever. I mean, give me a break. They're political hacks. So, you look at it – I mean, you have [former CIA Director John] Brennan, you have [former DNI James] Clapper, and you have [former FBI Director James] Comey. Comey is proven now to be a liar and he's proven to be a leaker.” Clapper tells us “my Trumpist career progression since the election has been from ‘Nazi’ to ‘swamp drainee’ to a member of the ‘fake news,’ and now a ‘political hack,’ (on Veteran’s Day, no less).” The retired three-star general added: “It’s not the first time Trump has said bad things about us. As John (Brennan) said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, ‘it’s a badge of honor.’ My family was more offended than I was.”

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? BBC News reported recently that the State Department has entered into a $2.8 million contract with a Russian security firm founded by an ex-KGB general to provide security for the U.S. embassy and diplomatic missions in Russia. According to justification documents posted online, the U.S. had no other choice since the Russians expelled so many U.S. personnel recently – and because no U.S. private security firms had “the requisite licensing or desire to operate in-country.” The lucky winner of the sole source contract is “Elite Security Holdings” – a Russian firm created by Viktor Budanov, a former KGB general who, according to the BBC, was a close friend of British spy and defector to Russia, Kim Philby. Viktor Budanov reportedly once ran KGB operations in East Germany and was then the boss of Vladimir Putin.

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