The second of two extracts from Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump (Twelve Books), by Michael Isikoff and David Corn concentrates on U.S. attempts to defend against the possibility of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
It refers to discussions among senior White House and U.S. national security staff about potential responses to interference and relates that one of the pieces of information considered was the alleged holding of secret Latvian bank accounts by the daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Knowing that Putin was notoriously protective of any information about his family, Celeste Wallander proposed leaking snippets of classified intelligence to reveal the secret bank accounts in Latvia held for Putin’s daughters—a direct poke at the Russian president that would be sure to infuriate him," the authors write.
The name of the bank or banks allegedly involved is not given and no further discussion of the matter is related in the text, but it is the incidental nature of the revelation and the credible account of the exchanges surrounding it by two experienced investigative journalists that makes it all the more remarkable. Mother Jones itself has a good track record in the sphere of investigative journalism.
However, it should be noted the claim remains unproven at this time according to any information currently in the public sphere.
Celeste Wallander is President and CEO of the U.S.-Russia Foundation. She served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Senior Director for Russia/Eurasia on the National Security Council from 2013-2017. She has also been a regular visitor to the Baltic states and spoke at the Riga Conference in both 2015 and 2017.
You can read the full extract on the Mother Jones website HERE.
