US intel ‘likely’ behind alleged Witkoff leak – Guardian

Someone who opposes Trump may have leaked confidential Ukraine-related call records, a former senior intelligence official told the paper

The alleged leak of private conversations between Russian and American officials involved in Ukraine peace talks was likely carried out by someone inside US intelligence, The Guardian wrote on Wednesday, citing a former intel official.

Bloomberg on Tuesday published transcripts of audio recordings of what it claimed were phone calls between Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, and senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.

While Dmitriev has dismissed the transcript as fake, Ushakov has suggested that someone in Washington could be trying to undermine Witkoff, adding that at least some of the purported leaks are fake.

Ushakov defended the ongoing Russia-US contacts, saying they are essential for fostering trust between the two nations and added that neither party has any interest in disclosing the details of such discussions.

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A retired senior intelligence officer told The Guardian on Wednesday that the leak most likely originated in Washington and may reflect internal opposition to President Donald Trump. The CIA or NSA could have been behind it, the source suggested. Someone in the intelligence community who opposes Trump’s Ukraine mediation effort may have made the “difficult and potentially extremely dangerous” decision to release the recordings, the paper noted.

Another former agent suggested that a European intelligence service could have been responsible, hoping to bolster Kiev’s stance in talks with Washington. Ultimately, “any number of agencies might have got hold of this recording,” the newspaper was told.

Ushakov told Kommersant on Wednesday that the incident reminded him of the 2017 case involving Mike Flynn, Trump’s first national security advisor, who was forced to resign after leaks revealed his conversations with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Ushakov suggested a similar kind of US internal infighting could be behind the leak.

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service recently warned that London could attempt a new smear campaign against Trump, casting him again as compromised by Russia in order to disrupt US-led peace efforts. Moscow has repeatedly accused the UK of acting to prolong the Ukraine conflict.