Author Luke Harding alleged on The Daily Beast Podcast that Trump appeases Putin for fear the Kremlin may have compromising material on him. A 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee report said the FSB had cameras in guest bedrooms at the hotel where Trump stayed.
Harding said his view was informed by his experience reporting in Moscow in 2007, when he said the FSB broke into his family’s apartment and planted bugs. He described the incident as evidence of the extent of Russian surveillance.
Harding said he believed the Kremlin had tapes of Trump and may also have monitored Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The report’s cited finding concerns hotel cameras; the article does not independently confirm Trump was recorded or that compromising material exists. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
