The Russian spy ship that transited up and back down the East Coast of the United States in February is taking another lap — and making no waves in Washington.
Last month’s trip by the SSV-175 Viktor Leonov, though routine, made headlines because it appeared at an intriguing moment in U.S.-Russian relations.
After making its way back down the coast, it had a port call in Havana for a couple of weeks and then embarked on a return trip.
As of Wednesday morning, it was about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Georgia, staying well outside of U.S. territorial waters and conducting a perfectly legal transit, according to one U.S. military official.
The official said the ship is expected to head north along the coast and then turn back around and head to a port call in Jamaica. As NBC News reported last month, its limited and outdated electronic eavesdropping gear means it can only listen to radio communications — ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore, and commercial radio broadcasts.
Asked whether the U.S. military is concerned about the transit, the official said, “Not really. We are about as concerned this time as we are every other time they do this.”
The Viktor Leonov CCB-175, a Russian Navy intelligence warship, is docked at a pier in Havana in 2015.
Chip Somodevilla
/ Getty Images, file
In a new report, the Center for American Progress says that President Trump is “following the same playbook” as European far-right leaders like France’s Marine Le Pen who are backed by Russia, “adopting eerily similar language … and pursuing the same policies that advance Russia’s objectives.”
“Trump or top Trump administration officials even met with four of these European far-right leaders during the presidential campaign or the transition,” notes Ken Gude in the report, titled “Russia’s Fifth Column.”
The liberal think tank says that Russia uses tools that include disinformation, propaganda, “alleged illicit financing,” and “covert influence operations” to help its proteges, and in return receives “a strikingly resistant level of support” from these leaders, “who all praise Putin.”
Click – to read the full report.
A journalist holds a board with portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin, French National Front leader Marine Le Pen, and U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump ahead of an annual news conference by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, at Moscow’s World Trade Centre.
Sergei Fadeichev
/ TASS via Getty Images, file
The Justice Department has charged an admiral and eight other current and former Navy officials with corruption for allegedly taking bribes from a Singapore-based defense contractor nicknamed “Fat Leonard” in exchange for classified and internal Navy information.
Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, several Navy captains, a retired Marine colonel and an enlisted sailor are accused of accepting Cuban cigars, prostitutes and free hotel rooms from Leonard Glenn Francis, who also allegedly threw sex parties for U.S. sailors. The behavior described in the charges allegedly occurred between 2006 and 2014.
Francis, the former CEO of Glenn Defense Marine Asia, has pleaded guilty to defrauding the Navy of millions of dollars. The information he received from Navy officials allowed him to overcharge the government by $20 million.
“This is a fleecing and betrayal of the United States Navy in epic proportions, and it was allegedly carried out by the Navy’s highest-ranking officers,” said Alana Robinson, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California. “The alleged conduct amounts to a staggering degree of corruption by the most prominent leaders of the Seventh Fleet – the largest fleet in the U.S. Navy — actively worked together as a team to trade secrets for sex, serving the interests of a greedy foreign defense contractor, and not those of their own country.”
Eleven other Navy officials, including another admiral, have already been charged in the fraud and bribery investigation.
Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Bruce Loveless poses in this undated photo.
U.S. Navy
If you want to know which of two rival princes is winning the battle for power in Saudi Arabia, just look at who’s in Washington and who isn’t.
Mohammed bin Salman, the 31-year-old deputy crown prince and defense minister, is at the White House today lunching with President Trump. Sources report there will be additional place settings for chief strategist Steve Bannon and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who’s been tasked with finding solutions to broader Middle East issues.
Bin Salman is also expected to meet with Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA Director Mike Pompeo while in town. On the agenda, the continuing civil war in Yemen, the Iranian nuclear deal, and stabilizing world oil prices. Big talk at a big table.
Compare that to the consolation prize Mohammed Bin Nayef, the 57-year-old crown prince and interior minister, received in late January. CIA Director Mike Pompeo was in Saudi Arabia to present MBN, a long-time U.S. favorite and counter-terror expert, with the George Tenet Award.
According to the Saudi news agency, the award was given for “excellent intelligence performance, in the domain of counter-terrorism and his unbound contribution to realize world security and peace.” It sounds more like a gold watch.
Saudi Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman, left, talks with Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef during the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Dec. 9, 2015.
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