The Guardian reports that a former senior intelligence official suggests that a U.S. insider may have leaked confidential Ukraine-related call records, possibly due to opposition to Trump’s Ukraine mediation efforts.
The alleged leak, involving recordings of communications between Russian and American officials, has raised concerns about internal divisions within Washington and potential foreign involvement. According to the paper, a retired senior intelligence officer told The Guardian that the leak most likely originated in Washington and may reflect internal opposition to President Donald Trump’s Ukraine mediation effort. The CIA or NSA could have been behind the leak, 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. Russian aide Yury Ushakov, who dismissed the transcript as fake, has suggested there may be an attempt to undermine the U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, with some leaks possibly being fabricated.
The incident has drawn parallels to past U.S. leaks involving senior advisors, such as Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign after leaks revealed his conversations with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Ushakov suggested a similar kind of U.S. 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 U.S.-led peace efforts.