Ex-FBI agent warns state secrets at risk after Trump victory

A former FBI special agent has issued a stark warning to the US intelligence community as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House for a second term.

Asha Rangappa called on X and urged intelligence officials to act quickly to secure sensitive information before he returns to power.

“I hope the IC will use the coming months to protect its resources as our national security secrets are about to be sold to the highest bidder,” she wrote.

Rangappa, a frequent critic of Trump, has repeatedly raised concerns about the former president’s impact on national security.

Calling on X, Asha Rangappa urged intelligence officials to act quickly to secure sensitive information before he returns to power.

She has suggested that Trump’s history of deceitful behavior and his ties to Russia point to possible influence, or “kompromat,” that foreign powers have over him.

Last month it emerged how Trump has remained in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office – making more than a handful of phone calls with him, according to allegations in Bob Woodward’s new book.

Woodward describes the extent of the contacts and attributes them to a Trump aide in his new book War, CNN reported.

There were “perhaps as many as seven” after Trump left office in 2021, Woodward writes. And the timeline extends beyond Putin’s bloody invasion of Ukraine.

The intervening period has seen brutal missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns, and a resulting flood of US and allied sanctions against Russia as well as Putin and members of his inner circle.

Trump has repeatedly stated during his campaign rallies that Russia would never have invaded Ukraine if he were still in office.

Last month it emerged how Trump has kept in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office – having had more than a handful of phone conversations with him,

Trump has publicly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin several times, both during his 2016 presidential campaign and throughout his time in office

During the height of the pandemic in 2020, Trump also sent Putin a secret stash of Abbott covid testing machines “for his personal use,” Woodward reports.

It came at a time of solidarity gestures as the pandemic spread, but Putin reportedly wanted to keep it quiet.

“Please don’t tell anyone you sent this to me,” Putin told Trump, according to Woodward. “I don’t care,” Trump told him. ‘Fine.’

“I don’t want you to tell anyone because people will be angry with you, not with me,” Putin told him. WashingtonPost reported.

While there is no concrete evidence that Trump sold classified information during his first term, allegations emerged that he shared highly sensitive defense data with guests at his private clubs in Florida and New Jersey.

Such incidents formed the basis of federal charges against him by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith.

The suit was ultimately dismissed by Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon, who cited a unique legal interpretation advanced by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

There is no concrete evidence that Trump sold classified information during his first term, but allegations surfaced that he shared highly sensitive defense data with guests at his private clubs.

Former FBI agent urges intelligence community to ‘secure’ its secrets before Trump returns to power

The judge found that Smith’s appointment as special prosecutor did not meet the appropriate legal standards and was not properly appointed to the role of special prosecutor.

Smith had planned to appeal the decision, but there are now suggestions he will bow out and ultimately complete both outstanding cases against Trump, including the classified documents case and the election conspiracy investigation.

Such a move would be in line with the Justice Department’s long-standing policy limiting the prosecution of criminal charges against a sitting president.

The two other federal criminal cases against Donald Trump will likely be concluded before he enters the White House.

Smith is in talks with the Justice Department to drop the January 6 prosecutions and classified documents. NBC News reported on Wednesday.

It’s a huge blow to Smith, who has stepped up business in the final months of the campaigns, spending nearly three years and more than $35 million in taxpayer money trying to bring the 78-year-old to justice.

Trump still faces sentencing next month in the New York hush money trial and the election interference case in Georgia led by District Attorney Fani Wills is beset by a slew of problems.