Bloomberg publishes extraordinary transcripts of secret discussions, but their provenance remains unclear
Bloomberg’s scoop showing how Trump aide Steve Witkoff coached the Kremlin on the best way to get into Trump’s good graces is extraordinary for what it tells us about Witkoff’s dubious loyalties and the Kremlin’s potential influence over US negotiation efforts. But equally interesting is the leaked material itself and where it may have come from.
The story covers two intercepted phone calls: one between Witkoff and top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, and another between Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, who has been deeply involved in negotiations with the Trump White House.
Bloomberg’s story was published without any byline or dateline, presumably because noting where the story was written or who wrote it could give clues as to the identity of the source. Bloomberg says only that it has “reviewed and transcribed audio” of the two phone calls, without giving any hint as to the sourcing or any checks done to verify authenticity.
Given the agency’s reputation for rigorous reporting however, it can be assumed that the source was considered to be very trustworthy before a decision was made to publish.
