Poisoned Spy Is a Warning to the West, Courtesy of Putin

[bucolic_frolic]

http://observer.com/2018/03/poisoning-of-russian-spy-sergei-skripal-reeks-of-putins-dirty-work/

The Poyntz case may not be of merely historical interest in Washington these days. We are in the unprecedented situation where the president and his retinue are under special counsel investigation for their secret ties to the Kremlin. Given Putin’s predilections, Americans who cooperate with Robert Mueller and his prosecutors, sharing information that will harm Team Trump, may be putting themselves at risk of Russian retribution.

Last week, Rick Gates, the Trump campaign official who agreed to cooperate with the Mueller investigation and spill the beans about Russia-related happenings in 2016, cancelled a spring trip to Boston in response to online threats of violence against him and his family. While this was most likely just noxious trolling of the sort that’s depressingly common regarding anything Russian, Gates made the right decision. In Cold War 2.0, the old Chekist rulebook has been thrown out. Anyone who’s deemed a threat by Putin may be at risk of getting lethal attention.