Background Briefing: May 12, 2025
Whistleblower Reveals Russian Recruitment of Musk and Thiel
We begin with the explosive revelations in a documentary just aired on ZDF the German public television network that features a former FBI counterintelligence special agent Jonathan Buma who worked against Russian espionage penetration of Silicon Valley out of the Russian consulate in San Francisco which has been a key Soviet and Russian spying hub going back to World War II and the Manhattan Project. We investigate the allegations made by Jonathan Buma that the Russians recruited Elon Musk whose drug-fueled libertine lifestyle was an invitation for blackmail. We’ll also assess the extent to which Trump’s FBI, led by the delusional ideologue and Trump-worshipper Kash Patel and his deputy the loony Right wing blogger Dan Bongino, are trying to shut Buma down and discredit him while Buma has sought protection from the pressure to silence him by running as a candidate for Congress in Arizona’s sixth district. Joining us is the lawyer for Jonathan Buma, Scott Horton, a former lecturer at Columbia Law School and a contributing editor at Harper’s in legal affairs and national security. He serves on the American branch of the International Law Association, and has represented a variety of journalists and whistleblowers.
Here is the English translation of the spoken German text
The Mismatch Between Our Constitution and Weaponized Partisan Politics
Then we look into the dangerous mismatch between our Constitution and today’s nationalized, partisan politics which has driven the US two-party system away from competing for votes in the center leading to the increase in extremism and animosity in American politics. Joining us is Paul Pierson, Professor of Political Science at the University of California at Berkeley. His books include Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer—And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class, Let them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality, and his latest book is Partisan Nation: The Dangerous New Logic of American Politics in a Nationalized Era.