It comes down to this, at least at this point: Given everything that this Trump administration is doing, what other possible explanation can there be but that he is, indeed, acting on behalf of a hostile foreign power?

It appears unavoidable to me by now that this is the conclusion any clear thinking person must come to. It is the only thing that makes sense, and, not happily, it confirms the reports going back to 1987 that I and some others have been sharing for almost a decade by now.

Yes, the KGB methodology for recruitment of spies and agents is a matter of textbook certainty. In his 1988 book, “On the Wrong Side,” Stanislav Levchenko, a former KGB chief who defected to the U.S. in 1979, presented an authoritative account of how spies and agents of influence are recruited and directed.

When asked what being a spy and recruiter was like, he said, “Mine is the second oldest profession in the world. And it’s not much different than the first. The oldest profession seduces the body; the second oldest seduces the soul.”

The methods he outlined in his semi-autobiographical book corresponded to the acronym, “MICE.” That is, there are four primary vulnerabilities that can be  exploited in the recruitment of a spy or agent: Money, Ideology, Compromise, and Ego. Different ones of these choices work differently with different people, and maybe more than one is involved with any particular person.

Thus, with the assertion made on social media just last month by Alnur Mussayev, another former KGB chief, that he’d recruited Trump in 1987 and that Trump had been given the nickname, Krasnov, it immediately resonated in certain circles, and has so far drawn over 12 million views.

The reason for that is not so much because of the claim itself, but because of the actions of Trump, especially since he took office in January.

 Even without this claim by Mussayev, the behavior of Trump, including his trashing of the federal government and posture toward Moscow, almost by necessity leads to profound suspicion.

Another former KGB operative is named in the recent book by Craig Unger, “American Kompromat.” Yuri Shvets was interviewed by Unger and Shvets claimed Trump first appeared on the Russians’ radar in 1977, when he was the target of a spying operation, a full decade before the recruitment alleged by Mussayev. Shvets said the KGB later went on a “charm offensive” when Trump visited Moscow and St. Petersburg for the first time in 1987, the same year specified by Mussayev. Shvets told The Guardian that Trump proved so willing to spread anti-Western propaganda that there were celebrations in Moscow.

Similarly, as I have recounted numerous times, the obscure pro-Moscow intelligence publication, the Executive Intelligence Review, reported this when it happened in 1987, noting Moscow recruited Trump then, an American businessman who could become a candidate for president of the U.S. someday.

Again I say, the corroboration of these claims lies in an examination of Trump’s truly bizarre actions now. They are inexplicable when seen any other way. 

Putin is losing in Ukraine, so Trump is trying to bail him out. Additionally, and along with all the other assaults on the U.S. domestic economy, a highly revealing move has been Trump’s executive order in the last week cancelling all funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the parent agency of Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio and TV Marti, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and the Open Technology Fund, which works to circumvent internet censorship.

These operations have made a huge difference in offsetting Moscow’s propaganda and misinformation since the end of World War II, making life miserable for Putin as his domestic population has been growing increasingly unsettled due to the massive losses he is suffering in Ukraine.

Western truth telling by way of these agencies has been tremendously effective over the years, so cui bono, I ask you, “who benefits?” from this move, or from any one of dozens of others that add up to dismantling the Atlantic Alliance and our nation’s many positive networks of influence around the globe.