American Kompromat

How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery

By: Craig Unger

Narrated by: Jason Culp

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's Summary

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Kompromat n.—Russian for "compromising information" 

This is a story about the dirty secrets of the most powerful people in the world—including Donald Trump.

It is based on exclusive interviews with dozens of high-level sources—intelligence officers in the CIA, FBI, and the KGB, thousands of pages of FBI investigations, police investigations, and news articles in English, Russian, and Ukrainian. American Kompromat shows that from Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, kompromat was used in operations far more sinister than the public could ever imagine. 

Among them, the book addresses what may be the single most important unanswered question of the entire Trump era: Is Donald Trump a Russian asset? 

The answer, American Kompromat says, is yes, and it supports that conclusion backs with the first richly detailed narrative on how the KGB allegedly first “spotted” Trump as a potential asset, how they cultivated him as an asset, arranged his first trip to Moscow, and pumped him full of KGB talking points that were published in three of America’s most prestigious newspapers.

Among its many revelations, American Kompromat reports for the first time that:

• According to Yuri Shvets, a former major in the KGB, Trump first did business over forty years ago with a Manhattan electronics store co-owned by a Soviet émigré. Trump’s decision to do business there triggered protocols through which the Soviet spy agency began efforts to cultivate Trump as an asset, thus launching a decades-long “relationship” of mutual benefit to Russia and Trump, from real estate to real power. 
• Trump’s invitation to Moscow in 1987 was billed as a preliminary scouting trip for a hotel, but according to Shvets, was actually initiated by a high-level KGB official, General Ivan Gromakov. These sorts of trips were usually arranged for "deep development," even if the potential asset was unaware of it.
• Before Trump’s first trip to Moscow, he met with Natalia Dubinina, who worked at the United Nations library in a vital position usually reserved as a cover for KGB operatives.
• In 1987, according to Shvets, the KGB circulated an internal cable hailing the successful execution of an active measure by a newly cultivated American asset who took out full page ads in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe promoting policies promoted by the KGB. The ads had been taken out by Donald Trump, who, Shvets said, would become a “special unofficial contact” for the KGB, that is, an intelligence asset.

A number of America’s highest national security officials have said they believe Trump is a Russian asset, but neither the Mueller Report nor the numerous congressional investigations throughout Trump’s presidency pursued that vital question. American Kompromat does.

In addition to exploring Trump’s ties to the KGB, American Kompromat shows that Russian kompromat operations documented the darkest secrets of the most powerful people in the world and transformed those secrets into potent weapons. It also reveals:

• How Jeffrey Epstein and Trump jostled for influence and financial supremacy for years. A college dropout let go from his prep school teaching job, Epstein became a millionaire in part with the help of Ghislaine Maxwell’s father—media tycoon Robert Maxwell, who allegedly served as a Soviet and Israeli spy and likely gave Epstein a sum estimated between $10 and $20 million before his death in 1991. 
• How the Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking operation provided a source and marketplace for sexual kompromat—dirty secrets of the richest and most powerful men in the world. Epstein knew that a multimillionaire—or future leader—caught committing adultery is nothing compared to getting caught on video in the act with a minor. 
• How the Epstein-Maxwell ring helped enable young women with possible ties to Russian intelligence to gain access to the highest levels of Silicon Valley and the worlds of artificial intelligence, supercomputers, and the internet. This, at a time when Vladimir Putin has asserted, “Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere [artificial intelligence] will become the ruler of the world.”
• How Epstein had ties to Russia through sex-trafficking. Epstein partnered with Jean-Luc Brunel, head of MC2 modeling agency and a major sex trafficker, who, in turn, had worked with Peter Listerman, the celebrated procurer, or “matchmaker” as he prefers, for Russian oligarchs. 

©2021 Craig Unger (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"For the first time a former KGB employee has gone on record to describe Donald Trump's historic relationship with the Kremlin. It's a bombshell that must be looked into." (Robert Baer, former CIA operative and author of See No Evil)

"By compiling decades of Trump’s seedy ties, disturbing and consistent patterns of behavior, and unexplained contacts with Russian officials and criminals, Unger makes a strong case that Trump is probably a compromised trusted contact of Kremlin interests." (John Sipher, Washington Post) 

"Craig Unger has just published a wonderful, well-written book. The jewel in the crown is how the KGB cultivated Donald Trump. With assistance of the eminent former KGB officer Yuri Shvets, American Kompromat establishes how it really took place." (Anders Åslund, senior fellow, The Atlantic Council) 

10 star book

I didn't think it was possible to break new ground in the Trump-Russia attack on 🇺🇲 democracy. I have read the Mueller report, the bipartisan Senate intelligence committee reports on Trump Russia as well as every other nonfiction book about Trump Russia, Deutsche Bank, books on the authoritarian theocrats in the modern GOP, biographies and intelligence officer memoirs of Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames. But Unger did it. Every claim he makes is backed up and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Unger found a former KGB major who defected to America years ago and he is cited frequently. Every American should read this book. I looked at the reviews, and I advise everyone to disregard those plainly written by MAGATS who plainly didn't read the book. If they had, they wouldn't have the emotional strength to attempt to discredit it as a fantasy. Especially since many of the Trump supporters are QAnon supporters- if they had read this book- the child sex trafficking operation by Trump and Epstein would have shocked them into a stunned silence. Trump was known to have sexually assaulted underage girls before he was elected. Unger's new masterpiece shreds lunatic claims from the Trump cult that he was ever on the side of punishing pedophiles. His relationships with Epstein, George Nader, and many others confirm what sane people have known for decades- Trump is a rapist and pedophile as well as an asset of the KGB turned FSB/ SVR/GRU. He betrayed this country and committed such corruption so badly, as did his enablers, it has permanently damaged our national security, our democracy and alliances/reputation abroad. Anyone who supports him in light of the overwhelming evidence of his treason, crimes against the constitution and underage girls is complicit.

AWESOME 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I’ve listened to a lot of different related books but THIS ONE I binged! Lots of new info & revelations but this book really covered it all in scope & topic!!
Absolutely recommend EVERYONE READ THIS EXCELLENT BOOK 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

Staggering relevations

Just when you think you know plenty enough on Trump, this book lays bare a history that leaves you understanding, there's do much still hidden. Ties to Epstein should come out in full review but we know that is not likely to be.

A Valuable Contribution

There's a lot of evidence here linking Trump to the Russian mob and there's already been evidence confirmed that the Russians went to extraordinary lengths to help Trump get elected. Why they would do that for someone they couldn't control is the question we should be asking.

THIS is a MUST read

i started this book late Monday and i COULD NOT put it down...when i tell you I was captivated from beginning to end i mean every element gave SO much clarity into wtf happened during the past administration i will gladly reread this over the weekend because there was just SO MUCH in it! YOU will NOT be Disappointed!

Connecting Trump, Epstein, Maxwell & Putin...

The largest throve of kompromat ever potentially incriminating a large bunch of powefull people. All exposed when Ghislaine Maxwell starts to talk.....

Chilling

This is an eye opening account of the deep control Russia has over Trump and the Republican Party! Americans will be burdened with the treachery for decades! A must “read” if you want to know just how corrupt William Barr is too! Chilling that the United States of America came so close to being completely under Trump and Putins control!

Very informative

Required reading for every American who wants to understand Russian influence in our politics. Trump’s kompramat was a given, from my perspective, but this book goes back to the capitalist roots pursued by a younger DT. Not sure what scares me more…the ways Russia uses the US for money laundering or the fact DT was elected when he was clearly a Russian asset. It does explain DT’s bold assertions of innocence as much of what he had done for Russia over the years was quasi-legal. I just wonder who else Putin is grooming these days? Ties many of the key players together, Alpha Bank, Epstein, Stone,Manafort, etc. What is clear is that we can’t afford another DT. I only gave four stars to performance as some of the accents used to read quotes were distracting. Otherwise, well done.

Meh

If you’ve seen the Epstein documentary filthy rich and the documentary Active Measures, you already know everything this book presents, he just tries to connect the two and he doesn’t quite get there. This was a waste of time.

Essential Reading

After reading more than a dozen related books and keeping up on events of the day, I cannot think of a better encapsulation of events central to recruiting Trump as an asset of Russia. Unger skillfully details the twisted relationship of Bill Barr and a host of extremist and Russian sympathizers, opposed to American Democracy, often due to their religious beliefs and or supporters of white supremacy.

The book in unique in that it is prophetic of the January 6th Insurrection, yet Unger completed the book before that event. I look forward to his next volume, and hope American Kompromat is widely reported.

Wow!

Congratulations Mr Unger. Powerful stuff. I always wondered who were Trump's enablers on a daily basis. The Lawyers chapter answered that for sure. There has to be a bigger picture. A must-read for US adults and anyone interested in American politics.

Highly Recommended

I am quite an avid news consumer and knew quite a bit of the facts in the book however it clearly connects all the dots, gives further information and reveals new data I did not know. I really enjoyed the book and the big scary picture it paints.

Essential listening

Utterly compelling, I am still in shock after finishing the book, and will be encouraging everyone I know to read/listen.

Understanding history in a line of events

Have missing links in understanding the culmination of events of the last four years? Listen to this! Slowly but surely the facts are strung together. Slowly but surely dots connect. Well worth your time!

I believe pretty much

all of what you say is right but you couldnt sound more like a democrat propaganda machine if you tried. Badly expressed, not clear in presentation of information and biased from the start. Poor quality. Disappointed.

Vladimir Trump

A very frightening, well researched and beautifully narrated account of the blatantly treacherous nature of Trump and his band of self serving acolytes whom he now ‘owns’ completely. Let them all hang their heads in shame.

No knockout

Well researched, sometimes flits between threads a little. In the end it’s been clear that Trump has knowingly been a stooge for the Soviets and the Russians for many many years. The disappointing piece is he may still get away with it. The Opus Dei bits are very interesting and almost as worrying as Trump. Unger draws the threads together very well and helps us understand a deceit that because of its breadth and audacity is almost unbelievable.

One wonders if there is the appetite and anger in the US to ensure the guilty pay the price.

gripping

a very detailed tapestry of well documented media coverage joining all the dots. Loved it