I read about the router situation and changed the factory password. Probably won't stop someone but at least I'm making it less easy. The Russians ALWAYS play the long game; Putin has been grooming the Fat Felon for decades, and now we're watching that traitor sell us off. The Rosenbergs were executed for far, far less.
Jude...I like that you go straight to the raw part. It's exactly what we are watching: The United States being sold off in pieces to the highest "bidder."
I was a contractor to the DoD and VA for thirteen years. I had to go through an IT security course annually. My passwords are at least 16 random letters, letter cases, numbers, and characters long. Yeah, it's a PITA for me. My passwords should be safe unless someone builds practical quantum computers. If that happens, we're all screwed anyway.
We are becoming more vulnerable and exposed by the hour….. combine all of this with the ordered stand down in cybersecurity and the increasingly dire financial situation many people here in the US face and…. it suddenly becomes the perfect storm. Lack of resources and or safety drives people to desperate measures just to survive and provide for their families. It’s not a great look for the supposedly richest country in the world. Our status is slipping quickly….
Thank you for this, Jack. Will be passing it along.
The recruitment pitch Moscow has always leaned on hardest isn’t ideology...it’s MONEY. A man who can’t make rent...is a man who takes the first $200 to photograph a building.
Every family pushed to the edge...is one more door the FBI USED to watch...and...now... CAN'T/WON'T.
We must prevail in this election...AND...then we have a hell of a lot of work...waiting.
And... thank YOU for passing this along. That's how it gets done!
Dexter Ingram and Malcolm Nance have covered some of this within their morning podcasts especially with relation to Europe and the Middle East. Both have backgrounds in this through their military experience. We are not in a good place and with drumpf and company praising Putin and refusing help to Ukraine that makes us look bad. Another former spy is Jacob Kaarsbo who is on Substack and is from Denmark. His info especially re Greenland is very informative. We are at a place where we must win this election cycle and in 28 if we are to going to start rebuilding our country.
Yes, Teri...ALL sources that you named...outstanding sources of Russia-related info.
Elections decide WHO holds the pen...and that matters.
But...I’d push one step further: the goal isn’t just to win...it’s to make this work election-proof.
Counterintelligence functioned under Reagan...Clinton...Bush and Obama because NOBODY treated it as a "political football."
The fix...HAS to be...the kind that survives whoever sits in the chair NEXT...or...we’re back here in four years...having the same damn conversation. That's one I know none of us here...want to have to have again.
ONE WEEK. I have to admit...I'm excited as hell about getting this show rolling!
Strzok ran the Bureau’s Russia counterintelligence work...and was OUT the door in 2018 for what he said in private texts, NOT for anything he did on a case.
Whatever anyone might think of the texts...the message landed on EVERY agent who worked that beat: Russia cases can END. YOUR. CAREER.
First, refill the desks. Counterintelligence slots in the field offices need to be PROTECTED POSITIONS that can’t be raided for other priorities.
Second, bring BACK the people who know the work. The Bureau lost more than 1,500 agents in eighteen months...and the Russia experts WENT FIRST. Some can be rehired. Others can be brought back...as contractors or trainers...so the knowledge doesn’t die with them.
Third, Congress has to ask. Two members wrote a letter in March about fired counterespionage agents and got SILENCE. (Which, to me, signaled endorsement at the very least...and, quite possibly, COOPERATION)
Oversight ONLY works when somebody keeps asking the SAME question until the damn thing gets answered. That’s where readers come in.
The spies took a DECADE to build what they have. We don’t need a decade to start watching again. We need a DECISION.
They've never left. I remember back in the Obama administration , PBO had a bunch of known operatives ousted publicly.. I'm sorry that I can't remember the exact precipitating event...but at any rate..it's been an open secret that operatives of different nationalities have always and routinely lived among us undercover for decades. It's likely true that our Gov does the same.
Yes, our government does the same - or at least it used to (who knows what it is doing now). Michael Sellers, who runs the Substack DEEPER LOOK, was a CIA operative working in Russia who got burned by Aldrich Ames.
Jack, what stands out to me is that Russian espionage today isn’t just about stealing secrets. It’s about access, money, influence, and exploiting divisions until Americans begin undermining their own institutions.
Trump’s increasingly open relationship with Putin makes your argument especially relevant. Add Witkoff and Kushner’s roles in Russia-related diplomacy and potential business interests, and the need for independent scrutiny becomes obvious. When private financial opportunities overlap with sensitive foreign policy, the public deserves to know who benefits and what safeguards protect American interests.
Kash Patel raises similar questions. Reports about a possible Russia visit, his outreach to Russian security officials, and intelligence-sharing discussions warrant scrutiny, particularly given Russia’s longstanding intelligence operations against the United States. Patel’s reported $25,000 payment from a film company run by a filmmaker with Kremlin ties is another relevant disclosure. None of this, by itself, proves espionage. But that’s precisely the point: counterintelligence is about identifying vulnerabilities before they become national security failures.
The same principle applies to Kimberly Guilfoyle. Reports that she sought $100,000 from a donor to cover personal credit-card debt shortly before her ambassadorial confirmation hearing raise legitimate questions about financial vulnerability. The donor says he never transferred the money, and the allegations are not proof of misconduct. But when someone has held a security clearance, financial pressures and outside relationships are legitimate matters for appropriate vetting.
Timothy Snyder’s work helps explain the bigger picture. Russian influence operations don’t require every person involved to be a recruited agent. They can succeed by amplifying existing divisions, discrediting democratic institutions, and encouraging Americans to distrust one another. Putin benefits when our alliances weaken, our intelligence agencies become politicized, and private interests take precedence over national security.
That’s why I think your article matters. We don’t need to label everyone a spy to ask serious questions about access, money, and influence. We need evidence, independent oversight, and accountability regardless of political affiliation.
The real danger isn’t simply that Russian intelligence might penetrate American institutions. It’s that those institutions could be weakened from within while the people responsible for defending them look the other way. That is a vulnerability Putin understands all too well.
I read about the router situation and changed the factory password. Probably won't stop someone but at least I'm making it less easy. The Russians ALWAYS play the long game; Putin has been grooming the Fat Felon for decades, and now we're watching that traitor sell us off. The Rosenbergs were executed for far, far less.
Jude...I like that you go straight to the raw part. It's exactly what we are watching: The United States being sold off in pieces to the highest "bidder."
And...yes...the Rosenbergs were!
-Jack
Putin likely wants his money's worth before his prized Cheeto crumbles into dust.
Sher'...yeah, Putin isn't known for being lenient with those who miss a payment. Things tend to become terminal at that point.
-Jack
I was a contractor to the DoD and VA for thirteen years. I had to go through an IT security course annually. My passwords are at least 16 random letters, letter cases, numbers, and characters long. Yeah, it's a PITA for me. My passwords should be safe unless someone builds practical quantum computers. If that happens, we're all screwed anyway.
We are becoming more vulnerable and exposed by the hour….. combine all of this with the ordered stand down in cybersecurity and the increasingly dire financial situation many people here in the US face and…. it suddenly becomes the perfect storm. Lack of resources and or safety drives people to desperate measures just to survive and provide for their families. It’s not a great look for the supposedly richest country in the world. Our status is slipping quickly….
Thank you for this, Jack. Will be passing it along.
Deb...thanks for bringing this up.
The recruitment pitch Moscow has always leaned on hardest isn’t ideology...it’s MONEY. A man who can’t make rent...is a man who takes the first $200 to photograph a building.
Every family pushed to the edge...is one more door the FBI USED to watch...and...now... CAN'T/WON'T.
We must prevail in this election...AND...then we have a hell of a lot of work...waiting.
And... thank YOU for passing this along. That's how it gets done!
-Jack
Dexter Ingram and Malcolm Nance have covered some of this within their morning podcasts especially with relation to Europe and the Middle East. Both have backgrounds in this through their military experience. We are not in a good place and with drumpf and company praising Putin and refusing help to Ukraine that makes us look bad. Another former spy is Jacob Kaarsbo who is on Substack and is from Denmark. His info especially re Greenland is very informative. We are at a place where we must win this election cycle and in 28 if we are to going to start rebuilding our country.
#HOLDFAST
Teri
Yes, Teri...ALL sources that you named...outstanding sources of Russia-related info.
Elections decide WHO holds the pen...and that matters.
But...I’d push one step further: the goal isn’t just to win...it’s to make this work election-proof.
Counterintelligence functioned under Reagan...Clinton...Bush and Obama because NOBODY treated it as a "political football."
The fix...HAS to be...the kind that survives whoever sits in the chair NEXT...or...we’re back here in four years...having the same damn conversation. That's one I know none of us here...want to have to have again.
ONE WEEK. I have to admit...I'm excited as hell about getting this show rolling!
#HOLDFAST
-Jack
Magnificent paper, as usual!
Thank you Jack for addressing this. Most people don't touch it with a ten foot pole...
Sher'...you're welcome.
It may or may not surprise you that many journalists and writers, whether they admit it publicly or not, fear writing about Russia/Putin, etc.
I can understand why. The threats are real.
-Jack
I understand it too...tbh I actually get nervous about running my own big mouth... and I'm just a dot...😄
Peter Strzok was the opening move.
Buck...hard to argue.
Strzok ran the Bureau’s Russia counterintelligence work...and was OUT the door in 2018 for what he said in private texts, NOT for anything he did on a case.
Whatever anyone might think of the texts...the message landed on EVERY agent who worked that beat: Russia cases can END. YOUR. CAREER.
The empty desks in 2026 didn’t start in 2026....
Thank you for being here, Buck!
-Jack
Excellent, Jack, thx. What will be needed to get back on track?
Mary E...thank you.
Three things...and none of them are complicated.
First, refill the desks. Counterintelligence slots in the field offices need to be PROTECTED POSITIONS that can’t be raided for other priorities.
Second, bring BACK the people who know the work. The Bureau lost more than 1,500 agents in eighteen months...and the Russia experts WENT FIRST. Some can be rehired. Others can be brought back...as contractors or trainers...so the knowledge doesn’t die with them.
Third, Congress has to ask. Two members wrote a letter in March about fired counterespionage agents and got SILENCE. (Which, to me, signaled endorsement at the very least...and, quite possibly, COOPERATION)
Oversight ONLY works when somebody keeps asking the SAME question until the damn thing gets answered. That’s where readers come in.
The spies took a DECADE to build what they have. We don’t need a decade to start watching again. We need a DECISION.
Thank you for that question, Mary. Seriously!
-Jack
They've never left. I remember back in the Obama administration , PBO had a bunch of known operatives ousted publicly.. I'm sorry that I can't remember the exact precipitating event...but at any rate..it's been an open secret that operatives of different nationalities have always and routinely lived among us undercover for decades. It's likely true that our Gov does the same.
Yes, our government does the same - or at least it used to (who knows what it is doing now). Michael Sellers, who runs the Substack DEEPER LOOK, was a CIA operative working in Russia who got burned by Aldrich Ames.
I follow them religiously and I enthusiastically agree with them. Malcolm called many of these shots months ago.
Jack, what stands out to me is that Russian espionage today isn’t just about stealing secrets. It’s about access, money, influence, and exploiting divisions until Americans begin undermining their own institutions.
Trump’s increasingly open relationship with Putin makes your argument especially relevant. Add Witkoff and Kushner’s roles in Russia-related diplomacy and potential business interests, and the need for independent scrutiny becomes obvious. When private financial opportunities overlap with sensitive foreign policy, the public deserves to know who benefits and what safeguards protect American interests.
Kash Patel raises similar questions. Reports about a possible Russia visit, his outreach to Russian security officials, and intelligence-sharing discussions warrant scrutiny, particularly given Russia’s longstanding intelligence operations against the United States. Patel’s reported $25,000 payment from a film company run by a filmmaker with Kremlin ties is another relevant disclosure. None of this, by itself, proves espionage. But that’s precisely the point: counterintelligence is about identifying vulnerabilities before they become national security failures.
The same principle applies to Kimberly Guilfoyle. Reports that she sought $100,000 from a donor to cover personal credit-card debt shortly before her ambassadorial confirmation hearing raise legitimate questions about financial vulnerability. The donor says he never transferred the money, and the allegations are not proof of misconduct. But when someone has held a security clearance, financial pressures and outside relationships are legitimate matters for appropriate vetting.
Timothy Snyder’s work helps explain the bigger picture. Russian influence operations don’t require every person involved to be a recruited agent. They can succeed by amplifying existing divisions, discrediting democratic institutions, and encouraging Americans to distrust one another. Putin benefits when our alliances weaken, our intelligence agencies become politicized, and private interests take precedence over national security.
That’s why I think your article matters. We don’t need to label everyone a spy to ask serious questions about access, money, and influence. We need evidence, independent oversight, and accountability regardless of political affiliation.
The real danger isn’t simply that Russian intelligence might penetrate American institutions. It’s that those institutions could be weakened from within while the people responsible for defending them look the other way. That is a vulnerability Putin understands all too well.
#HOLDFAST