title:  Former CIA Director Reveals How Putin Recruited Trump To Be A Double Agent
text: Former CIA Director Michael J. Morell has written a devastating op-ed in the New York Times. In it, he makes it very clear that he believes the safety of America is at significant risk if the American people elect Donald Trump to the presidency.In the course of that essay, Morell also points out the far-too-cozy relationship Trump has with Russian president Vladimir Putin.The dangers that flow from Mr. Trump s character are not just risks that would emerge if he became president. It is already damaging our national security.President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was a career intelligence officer, trained to identify vulnerabilities in an individual and to exploit them. That is exactly what he did early in the primaries. Mr. Putin played upon Mr. Trump s vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated.[ ]In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.Morell also notes that Trump  undermined security with his call for barring Muslims from entering the country  and that his bigotry  plays into the hands of the jihadist narrative that our fight against terrorism is a war between religions. The former official points out that Muslims have key roles in defending America, including the man who ran the C.I.A. s Counterterrorism Center for nearly a decade.He also heaps praise on Hillary Clinton, while making clear that he served under Presidents of both parties   three Democrats and three Republicans. On Clinton Morell says: I found her to be prepared, detail-oriented, thoughtful, inquisitive and willing to change her mind if presented with a compelling argument. The essay comes as Trump has begun to collapse in national polls and polls in swing states. They reflect a post-Convention surge in popularity for Clinton, but also reflect disgust over Trump s repeated attacks on the family of a fallen U.S. Army captain.Featured image via screen capture