Thread by @propornot

#IndictmentEve history THREAD: Roger Stone says he was pressuring Trump to run for Pres in 1988. So was the KGB. /1 theguardian.com/us-news/2016/d…

The 1st publicly documented contact between Trump & Soviet-bloc intel was in 1977, from declassified secret Czech spy archives abt Trump /2

Trump's 1st wife, Ivana, was a Czech national, & Czechoslovakia was of course a Soviet puppet state at the time. /3 chicagotribune.com/news/nationwor…

That means that Czech intelligence (the STB) was subordinate to the KGB, which worked through them & used them as cover around the world /4

From the late 70s on, Czech intel carefully assessed Trump's political ambitions/financial prospects, repeatedly analyzing them for years /5

The Soviet-Czech StB actually recruited Trump's father-in-law (Ivana's dad), Miloš Zelníček, to gather information abt Trump for them. /6

As a KGB subordinate, Czech intelligence didn't act alone. Trump was being directly cultivated by the KGB as well /7 washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…

In 1987, Gorbachev flew Trump to Moscow, as the kind of businessman the USSR could work with, in the new age of glasnost & perestroika: /8

This suggests Trump wasn't just vetted. The Soviets wouldn't have authorized a fighter escort for just anyone. By 1987 he seems suborned. /9

The declassified Czech spy archives note that Trump was "being pressured" to run for president in 1988. This gets a bit subtle here: /10

What matters here is the Czech intel report's use of the passive voice. As KGB subordinates that's how they'd omit mention of KGB ops: /11

This varied, but often, KGB-subordinate secret police weren't allowed to monitor or record KGB activity as such in their reporting. /12

So in 1988, Czech intelligence noted that that Trump was "being pressured" to run for president, suggesting the KGB was pressuring him. /13

In a new @grantstern interview, Stone says "I continually urged him to run for the presidency beginning in 1988" /14 thesternfacts.com/exclusive-roge…

From these data points alone it's fair to infer that Roger Stone & the KGB were pressuring Trump (in parallel?) to run for Pres in 1988. /15

Even in the 80s, Trump had an taste for dictatorship. This suggests that he was listening to a KGB handler complaining abt Gorbachev: /17

So Stone/Trump prob had contact w KGB spies for DECADES, & Stone's Guccifer2/Wikileaks outreach wasn't a one-off /18 justsecurity.org/45435/timeline…

Guys like Roger Stone don't just get away w stuff for decades without powerful friends (think Whitey Bulger). They usually have cover. /19

So in 1977, Soviet-Czech intel starts monitoring Trump & at the very least analyzing his political ambitions; prob the KGB itself too. /20

In 1987, Trump met the Soviet ambo & got flown to/feted by Moscow. In 1988 he was "being pressured" to run by Roger Stone & prob the KGB /21

This illustrates a few things: 1) Alliances are IMPORTANT. NATO matters in subtle ways. The Czechs are key allies now! cc @_JakubJanda /22

Without the Czech Republic being in NATO now, they probably wouldn't have declassified these important docs abt Trump & the STB/KGB /23

2) This should give you a sense for how far back #Kremlingate goes, & how big the iceberg is that America is just now seeing tips of. /24

Mueller is reported looking back a decade or so, & while that's important, the American people DESERVE to see the full story here! /25

3) Related key records have been kept hidden, in USG & allied archives, & we need a robust Special Commission to investigate all this /26

Russian propaganda, Russian espionage, Russian influence, Russian sabotage of the election: It's one big iceberg, & it goes back DECADES /27

The Kremlin's official spokesman, Peskov, declared, on the record to the NYTimes, that 🇷🇺 is in a war w 🇺🇸/🇪🇺: /28 nytimes.com/2017/09/13/mag…

We need a 9/11-style independent Special Commission to report on the FULL history of #Kremlingate, & make recommendations moving forward /29

We also need a Special Commission to backstop Mueller, provide vital USG support to the private sector, & coordinate effective response /30

Passing S.27, 1st introduced by @SenatorCardin back in Jan, would establish a Special Commission able to do this /31 congress.gov/bill/115th-con…

Mueller's investigation is NECESSARY but INSUFFICIENT. He's prosecuting, not reporting/recommending/coordinating /32 nytimes.com/interactive/20…

So remember: Whatever happens w Mueller tomorrow, Trump's been owned by the KGB for DECADES, & we need a robust Special Commission NOW! /END