Next up: Black Cube — the Israeli private security firm that made headlines for targeting accusers of #HarveyWeinstein — is back in the news. Last yr it tried to dig up dirt on former Obama officials who had worked on the #Iran nuclear — in an effort to discredit the deal itself.
One of those former Obama officials was @ColinKahl. Black Cube tried to get to him through his wife, @RebeccaKahl, a stay-at-home mom. An operative emailed her a year ago about donating to their daughter’s DC public school. nbcnews.com/news/world/bla…
.@RebeccaKahl says the outreach felt strange, and after a brief exchange, she stopped responding. #OnAssignment
The operative had emailed @RebeccaKahl under an alias, claiming to work for a London-based investment firm. Turns out that the operative who befriended @rosemcgowan as part of Black Cube’s work for #HarveyWeinstein claimed to work for that same bogus company.
We interviewed a source familiar w Black Cube’s #Iran work, who said the firm hoped to cultivate a relationship with the Kahls and ultimately dig up dirt on them. The goal was to undermine the deal as "corrupt and underhanded."
Initially Black Cube gathered intelligence just for corporate clients. But 2 yrs ago it got involved in government-related work, landing the firm at the center of some highly sensitive political disputes. That’s caused tension in the company, according to one of our sources.
As part of its #Iran work, Black Cube also targeted @tparsi, an advocate of the deal. An operative called him and posed as a journalist, trying to get him to say damning things about @ColinKahl and @brhodes. #OnAssignment
Who commissioned Black Cube to carry out its Iran-related spying remains a mystery. But according to one of our sources, word in the company was that it was done “for Trump.”
“You’ll never find their name on a contract,” our source said. “I was told by someone familiar with it, whom I trust implicitly that, with a nudge and a wink, ‘We've been hired by Trump.’" #OnAssignment
#NATO Sec Gen @jensstoltenberg said the talks between @realDonaldTrump and other leaders had “made NATO stronger.” But some are still fearful about the President’s gravitation towards Putin’s #Russia.
Neil Hobday says @realDonaldTrump paid all of the expenses for the Aberdeen course in cash and that even Trump associates found that “very unusual.”
.@AlanShipnuck says that one of the biggest questions in the golf and political world is “where did the money come from” for the Trump Scottish and Irish courses #OnAssignment
Another golf writer, @jdodsonauthor, said that @EricTrump told him in 2013 “We have all the funding we need out of Russia.” Eric Trump denies saying that and calls Dodson’s report “fake news”.
Tonight @realDonaldTrump is sleeping at #TrumpTurnberry. We’ve been investigating the finances of his golf courses in Scotland and Ireland. They were purchased - and renovated at a cost of tens of millions of dollars– all in cash. #OnAssignment
.@Rob_Weissman, president of @PublicCitizen, a watchdog group which has often criticized the president, says “it’s reasonable to say President Trump is getting a publicity value 100 times over what the cost of him visiting is.”
Weissman and his team at @PublicCitizen crunched the numbers and estimate that @realDonaldTrump’s golf weekend in Scotland is going to cost the US taxpayer around $1.9 mil. #TrumpUKVisit
Now we’ve got a report about the big #TrumpProtest today in London to mark the #TrumpUKvisit. @realDonaldTrump stayed away, complaining the British public had made him feel “unwelcome.”
At their joint press conference, 40 miles from London, @realDonaldTrump said he’d apologized to the PM – but also said that the recording of the interview would prove it was all #fakenews.
.@metpoliceuk tells @NBCNews: Officers from the counter terrorism network are working jointly with colleagues from Wiltshire Police regarding the incident in Amesbury. As Wiltshire Police have stated, they are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Amesbury is about 10 miles from Salisbury, where former Russian spy Sergei #Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in March.
“Thank you,” say the missing Thai boys as British divers finally find them inside the cave after 9 days. But it may still be months before rescuers can get them out. #ThaiCaveRescue nbcnews.com/nightly-news/v…
The boys were found about 2.5 miles from the mouth of the cave on a rock shelf. It took expert divers several hours to get to the group through narrow, twisting passages. Bringing them out will not be easy #ThaiCaveRescue
The Thai Army says the boys will need to learn to dive or wait up to 4 months for flooding to recede before they can get out. Food supplies are being sent in and authorities are trying to get power & phone lines into the cave so the boys can speak with their parents #ThaiCave