Newsweek

Is Donald Trump Really a Russian Spy?

The Russia investigation isn't fake news. But Donald Trump would be a spymaster's nightmare.
President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House upon his return to Washington, D.C., on August 20, after a vacation in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Donald Trump

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

It was the summer of 2008, and I was in Wayne, New Jersey, standing in a Hooters parking lot with Captain Oleg Kulikov, a New York–based Russian spymaster. For three years, I’d been working for Moscow, trying to prove my worth. I wanted to become a key asset for the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency. In return, I wanted a hefty paycheck and thought I’d done enough to earn it. But Kulikov was dithering—and he could see I was upset.  

What he didn’t know: I was a double agent, working for the FBI. My mission was to make the Russians believe I was a spy. Which meant I had to

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Newsweek

Newsweek1 min readDiscrimination & Race Relations
The Archives
“In April, a new poll revealed that 81 percent of the American people believe that the country is on the ‘wrong track.’ In the 25 years that pollsters have asked this question, last month’s response was by far the most negative,” Newsweek reported. F
Newsweek8 min readInternational Relations
Japan's Call To Arms
MORE THAN A DOZEN TIMES, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida uses the word “peace” as he discusses his country’s momentous decision to undertake its largest buildup of military capabilities since World War II. “Since I became prime minister, we hav
Newsweek2 min read
Hannah Einbinder
AFTER A NEARLY TWO-YEAR HIATUS, THE Max-original Emmy Award-winning series Hacks is back. And Hannah Einbinder, who plays Ava, the comedy writer to legendary—and difficult—stand-up comic Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), used the time off to figure out how

Related