I’ve been listening to this song – Russian Agents in the White House – and reflecting on what it implies. It’s a cool song with a smoking groove – but it’s the song’s main idea that has me thinking.

Are there Russian agents in the White House?

Forget AG William Barr. His dismissal of Trump / Russia means nothing. He’s a propagandist who lied to Congress.

Understand this: the Attorney General of the United States lied to Congress, and he did it to protect the President. Translation: Barr’s credibility is nonexistent, he has broken the law (lying to Congress is a crime,) Trump has something to hide, and the entire administration is lawless and corrupt.

Trump has a lot to hide, from the looks of it. For over two years now, he has been working hard to obstruct any and all investigations into his questionable activity. The coverups stretch far and wide.

Is Trump a Russian agent? Is the president of the United States a Russian agent?

Personally, I think it’s very possible. That’s just my opinion.

Objectively, it’s a difficult and dicey topic to tackle. To begin, let’s turn to the infamous 35-page dossier compiled by former British MI6 agent Christopher Steele and originally published by Buzzfeed.

The Steele dossier is worth re-reading if you haven’t done so in a while. If you’ve never read it, and you care at all about Trump’s legitimacy, I consider it required reading.

Evidence that Trump is a Russian agent: that’s what the Steele dossier contains. Read it and you’ll see. Mueller, and FBI investigations before Mueller was appointed, had the dossier as evidence. Whether they found it to be true or not is another discussion – but they had it. That means that Mueller and the FBI had evidence that Donald Trump is a Russian agent.

We don’t know how much of the dossier has been corroborated. In December 2018, Lawfare concluded, “As a raw intelligence document, the Steele dossier … holds up well so far.”

If we believe much of what the dossier says, what Mueller’s findings have revealed, and what public reporting has revealed since the dossier’s release, Trump and some of his operatives are massively compromised on Russia. It’s not a stretch to say they are Russian agents.

But Mueller exonerated Trump on Russia, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

Why Mueller Did Not Exonerate Trump on Russia Connections

For one thing, Mueller only looked at matters related to the 2016 campaign. He was not tasked with investigating ongoing concerns about connections between Team Trump and Russia.

Also, the report of Mueller’s investigation reveals only surface facts about action Russia took – and action the Trump campaign took – leading up to the election. The report does not touch on compromised relationships, conflicts of interest, possible bribery or extortion, blackmail or financial leverage the Russians might have over Trump, or any of the other reasons that Trump consistently behaves the way he does regarding Putin and Russia.

All Mueller said was that he could not … establish … cooperation between the Trump campaign in Russia during the campaign. “Could not establish” is lawyer-speak meaning could not meet the high standards of evidence required to indict and convict.

I don’t for a minute believe that the Mueller report lets Trump and his cronies off the hook for cooperating with Russia. As many have pointed out, Russia interfered in our election to help Trump, and the Trump campaign had numerous clandestine contacts with Russian operatives. Before and since the election, Trump himself has bent over backwards to praise Putin and assist Russia in advancing its agenda.

The word agent means “acting on behalf of.” Is it fair to say that Trump or his people have acted in Russia’s interest?

Trump Surrogates Acting as Agents of Russia

The list of dubious actions is long and tawdry. While Trump avoided direct involvement, he’s a notorious micromanager. It’s impossible to believe that all these events took place without Trump’s direction or knowledge.

Here are just a few highlights, with many more contacts and connections that add to the disturbing pattern. Note that this list does not include the infamous Trump Tower meeting, since that was about Russia offering to aid the Trump campaign. This list is about Trump surrogates working to help Russia – i.e., act as agents.

As we consider actions on this list, again and again we see that Trump and surrogates did things that were favorable for Russia. Were they “acting on behalf of” Russia, or simply doing things that happened to be favorable? We can’t know … but we surely have reason to be unsettled.

July 18, 2016 – the Trump campaign pressured the RNC to change only one thing in its official 2016 platform – to relax support of the Ukraine resistance to Russian interference there. That was something Russia wanted – so why did Trump want it?

Dec. 1, 2016 – Jared Kushner suggests using Russian Embassy for back-channel communications … which puts Russia at an advantage. Sounds like something a Russian agent might do.

Dec. 12, 2016 – the first of Trump campaign surrogates’ meetings with Russians to suggest relaxing sanctions. That was something Russia wanted – so why did team Trump want it?

Dec. 13, 2016 – Tillerson pick for Secretary of State called “a gift for Putin” by Moscow insider … something favorable for Russia.

Dec. 29 & 30, 2016 – Mike Flynn, the designated Nat’l Security Advisor, called Russian Ambassador Kislyak at least 5 times … the next day, Putin made a surprise announcement that they will not respond to sanctions. Sounds like Putin had gotten some good news.

Late January, 2017 – in the days immediately after inauguration, the Trump administration was already considering an executive order to unilaterally lift Russian sanctions … more good news for Russia!

Jan. 26 & 27, 2017 – the White House is notified that Flynn lied to Mike Pence about Russia conversations, and that he’s vulnerable to Russian blackmail. This means he could possibly be a Russian mole – yet Flynn would remain Nat’l Security Advisor receiving classified briefings for another 18 days. A possible Russian mole getting classified briefings? Definitely something Russia had to be happy with – so why didn’t Trump remove Flynn right away?

May 10, 2017 – Pres. Trump meets with Russian Amb. Kislyak & Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov – denying press access to US media but allowing Russian media to bring their cameras and recording equipment in. Trump met with the two men “because Putin asked him to,” according to both the White House and Pres. Trump himself. During the meeting, Trump disclosed classified secrets and boasted how he had gotten rid of Comey, ending scrutiny into Trump / Russia. That sure sounds like something a Russian agent might do.

Ongoing – the Trump administration has done absolutely nothing to prevent future Russian interference in our elections. Why not? In fact, Trump has repeatedly denied that Russia was behind the interference, despite extensive documented proof by US intelligence agencies and the Mueller report.

Ongoing – Trump praises Putin and Russia at every opportunity, while deliberately antagonizing allies, working to weaken NATO, and has left the US State Department dangerously understaffed. These are all things Russia wants. Why does Trump want them?

Whose side is Trump on? The answer to that question worries me.

Trump’s Taxes – Smoking Gun?

Trump is taking extreme steps to prevent Congress from obtaining his tax returns. Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin – who has a lot to lose by doing so – is complicit in this coverup. Mnuchin is brazenly breaking the law in refusing to comply with the lawful order from House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal to turn them over.

We might get access to Trump’s New York state tax returns very soon, and possibly his federal taxes as well. Efforts across multiple fronts are working to get to the bottom of questions around Trump taxes.

I’m guessing that Trump’s taxes will reveal enormous financial indebtedness to Russia.

Deep-dive investigations into his real estate transactions have already uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars in Russian money flowing into his properties. Connections between Trump and Russian crime figures are well documented.

Trump’s taxes have shown him to be a poor businessman. Is that what he’s hiding as he stonewalls efforts to release his taxes?

I think there’s more to it than that. I think Trump is ass-deep in Russian money, and his taxes would prove it.

I think Trump is financing his extensive Russian debt not only by paying interest – but by granting political favors as well. His taxes won’t reveal any such arrangements, but I bet they will demonstrate his deep indebtedness.

If it’s true that Trump is granting favors to a foreign government in exchange for debt relief, then that means he is a foreign agent in every interpretation of the word.

Will we ever know?

I think the truth will come out, even if it takes us well beyond the Trump Presidency. I just hope the US republic survives until then.

This article is reprinted from Medium with permission from the author.