Trump Ordered CIA Chief's Secret Moscow Mission

President Trump personally ordered CIA Director John Ratcliffe's secret trip to Moscow this week, and senior White House aides were kept in the dark about it, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Ratcliffe flew into the Russian capital aboard an unmarked U.S. C-17 military cargo plane out of Latvia, according to the Journal.

Two European officials who were briefed on the meeting told the Journal that Ratcliffe used the sit-down to stress Washington's continued backing for NATO's mutual-defense pledge and to warn Russia off any strike on alliance members.

The Journal reported that Trump's move bypassed aides and military brass who would normally be looped in beforehand, and that the president turned to his CIA director after earlier rounds of talks led by other Trump confidants failed to stop the fighting in Ukraine.

What Was Discussed

The Daily Mail, citing the New York Times, reported that Ratcliffe delivered his message to Aleksandr V. Bortnikov, the head of Russia's FSB intelligence service, and warned that Russia needs to cut a deal with Ukraine before its military and economic position gets worse.

Per that reporting, Ratcliffe did not threaten specific consequences if Russia ignored the assessment and kept fighting. Officials told the Times that Putin — himself a former intelligence officer — would take the warning seriously coming from the CIA director.

The Daily Mail also reported the CIA has long questioned whether Putin's advisers give him the full truth about the war's trajectory and its toll, and that the agency has maintained standing channels to both the FSB and Russia's foreign intelligence service, the SVR — channels separate from those Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner have built with other senior Putin advisers.

NBC News reported that Ratcliffe also asked Russia's spy chief not to share intelligence with Iran that could be used against the United States.

The Frank notes what is not on the record: the White House, the CIA, the Pentagon and the U.S. Air Force all declined to comment on the visit, according to the Guardian, and the CIA declined to comment on the reasons for the trip, according to CBS News. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the visit and said Ratcliffe did not meet Putin.