The Dim Philby Leaks

"Bloomberg obtained and posted the content of two phone calls showing Steve Witkoff whom Michael Weiss has dubbed Dim Philby working for Russia's interests, not US interests. Bloomberg published two transcripts: A 5-minute October 14 call between Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, Putin's top foreign policy advisor, in which Witkoff tells Ushakov how to pitch Trump on capitulation A short October 29 call between Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, in which Dmitriev described informally pass[ing ] along [Russia's maximal piece plan], making it clear that it's all informal. And let them do like their own"

"The transcripts show that Witkoff is a sycophant serving Putin's interest and that the transcript that Americans have been claiming was their own plan was, as everyone smart insisted, in fact Russia's plan. The fall-out of this is yet to be seen. Thus far, Marco Rubio's efforts to salvage things seems to have bought time. When Bloomberg posted the transcripts they said they had reached out for comment from the White House. That reference is gone, but now Trump and his flunkies claim these transcripts make Witkoff look strong, rather than culpable. So maybe Trump will just try to barrel through the transcript release and still capitulate to Russia."

"I want to consider the logistics of this leak, which could arise from wiretapping (or simply recording) what happened on Ushakov's phone, which is common to both transcripts. It could have come from any of three entities: The Russians, who would have ready access to Ushakov's phone and no concern about preserving that access Some European intelligence service, which would be endangering a tremendously valuable compromise by releasing this, but might stave off diplomatic catastrophe American leakers, possibly at the CIA (which, like Marco Rubio, was excluded from these negotiations) Bloomberg's story has no byline, which would make it harder for the FBI or anyone else to determine who leaked these materials."

Bloomberg posted transcripts of two phone calls linking Steve Witkoff to senior Russian officials during October, showing him advising on how to pitch Trump toward capitulation. One call involved Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov and another involved Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, who described passing along Russia's maximal plan informally. The transcripts portray Witkoff as serving Putin's interests rather than American interests and suggest the plan claimed by some Americans originated with Russia. Possible leak sources include Russian access to Ushakov's phone, a European intelligence service, or American leakers; the publication lacked a byline.

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