A dossier by a British spy sent shockwaves around the world back in 2017, alleging Russia interference in the US election and the existence of a Donald Trump sex tape. Claims that were strenuously denied by Trump.
Now, just weeks before America goes to the polls again, former spy Christopher Steele is back with more revelations.
In his new book, ‘Unredacted: Russia, Trump and the Fight for Democracy’, he looks into wider Russian influence in American elections, and claims that Mr Trump is a threat to democracy.
Cathy Newman: So this time, obviously a very, very close election in America. What are your sources telling you about how Russia might be intervening already, or might be planning to intervene?
Christopher Steele: It’s much more subtle. It’s much more geostrategic now. And the two things that come out in the book are, the one thing that Russia has identified as a key issue in the American election is inflation. And this is something that the Russians think that they can keep up, that they can exacerbate in the West, in particular in America, through the oil price. And they’ve spent the last few years growing closer to OPEC and OPEC leaders to limit production and keep inflation high in the world economy.
Cathy Newman: And you think they’re already doing that, to be clear? This is happening now?
Christopher Steele: They’re sort of openly doing it, but their motivation declared is different.
Cathy Newman: And they’re also, in your belief, your sources are telling you in your book, that they’re in some way trying to manipulate migration at the southern border to the US. Just explain what you found out there.
Christopher Steele: So once again, they’re very aware that that’s a toxic issue in the election and one that they perceive as aiding Trump and not helping Kamala Harris. What we do know for sure is that in the last few years, the Russian intelligence presence in Mexico has absolutely mushroomed. There are many, many more agents operating out of Mexico City now than ever were. And looking at the border, somehow they will manipulate gangs and so on to stir up more immigration into the southern part of the US.
Cathy Newman: Which would be to Kamala Harris’s detriment?
Christopher Steele: Absolutely.
Cathy Newman: Do you think, after the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, you’ve had obviously the Skripal poisonings, you’ve had Crimea, you’ve had now Ukraine. Do you think the West shows Putin weakness rather than strength?
Christopher Steele: Certainly the West has been weak and has lost its deterrence against Russia in the last couple of decades. And so I think Russia is really out of control at the moment, and there aren’t really many ground rules as to what would constrain them or what they would stop at. And one of the things that really worries me is, you remember the prisoner swap that took place recently for Evan Gershkovich. The Wall Street Journal journalist in Russia was swapped in return for a FSB assassin called Krasikov, who had murdered somebody on the streets of Berlin, and who was returned to Russia and met off the plane, I have to say, by President Putin himself or somebody looking like President Putin, as an endorsement and as a message really for Russia’s assassins and Russia’s dirty operations, that if you carry out your duty, if you carry out your work, don’t worry, we will get you back, we will get you out of prison. So that, again, was a really big blow, I think, to deterrence in terms of these kind of kinetic, as we say, operations.
Cathy Newman: You don’t think the deal should have been done?
Christopher Steele: I don’t think Krasikov should have been included in the deal, no.
Cathy Newman: Trump’s spokesman says that everything in your book and everything that you say should be dismissed and that you are actually meddling in his election campaign. But given we are just weeks away from polling day in America, doesn’t he have a point you’re meddling?
Christopher Steele: I’m trying to set out a warning of hostile states, authoritarian states, and their meddling in the election of America. I’m an American ally. I always have been.
Cathy Newman: You suggest in your book that Trump is more dangerous than China and Iran. To compare a past president and potentially future president of one of our biggest allies, one of the world’s biggest democracies, to countries that threaten our very existence seems pretty far fetched to say the least, isn’t it?
Christopher Steele: I would respectfully disagree with that. I think the future of Nato would be thrown into severe doubt. Article Five, which is the mutual defence agreements within Nato. I think that the prospect of Putin triumphing in Ukraine through some sort of peace deal, that really wasn’t worth a name, in which a lot of land was ceded to Russia. Putin was able to present that to his people as a victory. Go back, rearm, and then attack somewhere else, the Baltic states in particular. And actually, if you talk to diplomats and government officials and intelligence officers from particularly eastern European countries, you’ll know they’re absolutely petrified of Trump coming into power. And it’s a secondary wave, people like Le Pen in France.
Cathy Newman: Your wife, Katherine’s, career working for the Foreign Office, basically came to an end after the leaking of your dossier. Her boss said there was a perceived conflict of interest with your work. What do you think was going on there?
Christopher Steele: She was basically sidelined and not allowed to do a proper job and not allowed to go about her proper business as she always had been. And she was a public servant with a great record, great track record, spotless record. And effectively, she was never offered another serious job.
Cathy Newman: So they were scared of offending Trump?
Christopher Steele: Yes, essentially. And she was in many ways the victim of that.
Cathy Newman: And Trump still hasn’t paid you what he owes you from the time you defeated him in the British courts before.
Christopher Steele: Yes, Trump probably owes us in the region of half a million to £1 million for two cases, actually, one in Florida and one here. And has been in breach of a high court costs order in Britain now for six months and shows no sign of paying. So his respect for Britain, his respect for our rule of law and way of life, seems to be pretty limited.
Cathy Newman: So what are you doing about trying to get that money from him?
Christopher Steele: I couldn’t possibly give away all those plans, but certainly we’re not giving up and we will continue going with this until the end.
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We did ask the Foreign Office for a statement but have yet to receive a response.
