"Was Donald Trump helped into the White House by Vladimir Putin?" "This is clearly the most serious blow to our democratic system since Watergate." "A spy on the run, honey traps, cyberwar - the Kremlin has form." "Russia - they do this like bread and butter." "It is part of their being." "Trump denies everything and blames the CIA." "That's something that Nazi Germany would have done and did do." "As he is about to take office, we ask what does the Trump/Putin bromance mean for us?" "It is not going to be business as usual." "And what happens if the two leaders fall out?" "There's a bit of a firefight behind us." "In 2013, Donald Trump's biggest worry was his golfing handicap." "Hello, sir." "Hi." "'Back then, I was making a film about him 'and the murky characters he had been doing business with.'" "I'm in the midst of playing in a big tournament." "'I met him in Bedminster, his golfing estate in New Jersey 'where he's recently been picking his Cabinet." "'No Russian spies here - 'as far as I could see.'" "I've been asking as many provocative questions as possible." "I know." "He's very provocative." "I've seen him." "He's very provocative." " Have you got time to take me for a spin on the golf buggy?" " Come on." " Let's go, come on." " OK, now, so..." "'I experienced first hand the wall of Trump charm.'" "I'm glad you came out here." "I appreciate you taking the time to see it." "I'm just worried about the driver!" "HE LAUGHS" "Bedminster projects the image of Donald Trump millions of Americans have bought into - the brash billionaire with the Midas touch." "The seatbelts, are they gold?" " Gold-plated." " Gold-plated." "Yeah." "They're actually 24-carat gold." "BBC health and safety will be watching!" "Since then, my golfing partner has gone up in the world and found a new buddy." "If he says great things about me," "I'm going to say great things about him." "They want me to disavow Putin." "Putin of Russia - he said, "Donald Trump is a genius," ""he'll be the next leader."" "Why does Trump seem to admire Putin so much?" "Under his watch, countries have been invaded, a passenger jet shot out of the sky, and too many of his critics have ended up dead - but for Donald Trump, he's full of compliments." " TRANSLATION:" " Trump is very bright and talented, saying he wants to shift to a better relationship with Russia." "How can we not welcome that?" " Hello, hi." " Good to see you." "Trump biographer Michael D'Antonio is fascinated by what Trump and Putin might have in common." "He lives in a world that he has described as a comic book." "He has said that, "I am the star of my own comic book" ""and I'm the central character of it."" " He believes in the superficial extreme images of life." " He..." "Hold on." "He believes he's Superman?" " Or Batman?" "Or Trumpman." " He's Superman or Batman... or maybe he's a villain in one of these stories - but if you think about Putin, he is also a comic book character." "He is head of a country whose economy is half that of the state of California, and yet, on the world stage, he looms large, because he's puffed himself up." "He is also a strong man, and Donald really admires strong men." "He admires the exertion of power and he admires the fact that Putin doesn't seem inhibited about using it." "In the past week, the Trumpman and the Vladiator have had to deal with this - a grenade lobbed into their comic strip adventures by a former MI6 officer." "You couldn't make it up." "The dossier, reportedly written by Christopher Steele, claims Moscow armed Team Trump with information about his opponent via a secret backchannel." "It goes on to say the Russians have kompromat on Trump." "In English, we would call that blackmail." "The dossier is completely unverified," "Trump denies everything, and is furious it's out there." "I think it was disgraceful." "Disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out." "And that's something that Nazi Germany would have done and did do." "I think it's a disgrace." "But is the dossier fiction, fact or a bit of both?" "In the shadowy world of freelance intelligence, that's unknowable for now." "In 2013, the Trump-owned Miss Universe circus rolled into Moscow." "Donald Trump had his own reasons to be excited." "He tweeted..." ""Do you think Putin will be going to the Miss Universe pageant?" ""Will he become my new best friend?"" "A meeting was reportedly set up, but it never happened - but the leaked dossier says a number of prostitutes were provided to Trump's Moscow hotel room to service his sexual perversion - as hidden cameras recorded everything." "Malcolm Nance used to be an officer in US intelligence, and has studied Russian spy craft." "Most of the rooms are wired for sound - anyway, even if they're not wired, they have sophisticated enough collection systems to where they don't have to be in the room." " Thank you." " Nice to meet you again." "The intelligence service would have been part of the analysis team that would have been watching him to determine, is Donald Trump or anyone on his staff someone we could turn into a hostile agent, an agent who would work for Russia?" "Everything in that report fits hand in glove with how Russian intelligence works." "That doesn't mean it's true - but Putin certainly has form for kompromat." "Back in 2000, Mikhail Kasyanov was Putin's Prime Minister." "They fell out, and Kasyanov became an outspoken leader of the opposition." "Then, last year, this video of the married man having sex with his assistant was broadcast on state TV." "Kasyanov told us about the latest allegations." "There is no corroborating evidence for the sex kompromat in the dossier, and Trump says he would never have fallen into a honey trap." "I am extremely careful." "I'm surrounded by bodyguards and I always tell them, "Be very careful," ""because in your hotel rooms, and no matter where you go," ""you're going to probably have cameras."" "Does anyone really believe that story?" "I'm also very much of a germophobe, by the way." "Believe me." "But kompromat is not just about sex - it can be about money, too." "Could the way he does business make him vulnerable to blackmail?" "He's always wanted to make it big in Russia since his first visit in the 1980s - but there's a big problem with doing business in Russia today." "Most money in Russia is connected to gangsterism." "Not all of it, but much of it - or most of it, and so, if you were doing business with any of the big business groups in Moscow, you might, at some point, deal with people" "who were part of international crime syndicates." "Donald Trump never got a hotel off the ground in Moscow - but Russian money did end up here in Trump Tower in New York." "Meet Felix Sater, a Russian-American gangster." "Before becoming a senior advisor to Donald Trump in New York, he'd been to prison for stabbing a man in the face." "He'd also been convicted for his part in a $40 million Mafia scam on Wall Street." "Sater escorted Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka around Moscow in 2006." "So, why would Trump want him as a partner?" "Back in 2013, I asked Trump about a property deal bearing the Trump name that he did with Felix Sater's company, Bayrock." "Why didn't you go to Felix Sater and say, "You're connected with the Mafia, you're fired"?" "Well, first of all, we were not the developer there." " That was a licensing deal." " But your name's on it, Mr Trump." "Excuse me, but I don't know." "You're telling me things that I don't even know about." "I mean, you're telling me about Felix Sater" " I know who is..." "But for a year, you stayed in bed with Felix Sater and he was connected with the Mafia." "Again, John, maybe you're thick, but when you have a signed contract, you can't, in this country, just break it - and, by the way, John, I hate to do this," "but I do have that big group of people waiting," " so I have to..." " OK, well, one last question, please, sir." "I have to leave." "Thank you." "Felix Sater told us that he is not now, nor has he ever been connected with the Mob - but having a man like Sater in Trump Tower shows poor judgment." "Worse, these kind of associations leave him vulnerable to being compromised." "The leaked dossier doesn't just suggest that Trump could be blackmailed." "It also details election campaign hacking, and this much, we now know, is true." "I'm in Washington to see the evidence for myself." "Welcome." "Pleasure to have you." "Dmitri Alperovitch's company CrowdStrike were the first to identify hostile code in the computers of Team Hillary, the Democratic National Convention, or DNC." "We have never seen a more consequential cyber operation being conducted in the United States, ever." "He classifies foreign agents using animal names, so, Chinese hackers are pandas, Russian spies are bears." "April 2016, Fancy Bear intrudes into the DNC." " Fancy Bear is..." " GRU" " Russian military intelligence." "How was CrowdStrike so sure the cyber spies were Russian?" "What's their proof?" "This is the actual piece of code that was deployed inside the DNC." "This is indications of internet connections" " that it opens up to connect to the mother ship." " Wow." "So, this is your cyber equivalent of the burglar's footsteps in the snow." "Exactly." "Looking at this evidence, looking at how this code was written, how we've seen in previous attacks, looking at the totality of the evidence in the course of this investigation, it gave us a high degree of confidence" "that this was indeed Russian intelligence." "What is so extraordinary is that, during the campaign," "Trump egged on the Russian hackers." "Russia, if you're listening," "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing." "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press." "Let's see if that happens." "That'd be nice." "Yes, sir?" "There's no doubt that Russia WAS listening." "Welcome to the citadel of cyberwar." "The people who directed the hacking of American democracy are spread across Moscow - but at least some of the prime suspects are based in this building behind me." "It's the headquarters of the FSB, which is the new name for the KGB." "Its former boss" " Vladimir Putin." "The party line in Moscow is emphatically that Russia did not hack the election." "Konstantin Kosachev is a Russian senator." "A lot of people in the United States, including people in the CIA, say that Russia hacked American democracy." "Is that true?" "As far as I can read our experts, it does not point anywhere." "So, Russia did not hack American democracy, full stop?" "Er, Russia did not hack American democracy, full stop." "HE SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN" "But look at this press conference last month." "Is this wink from Putin that he did have a hand in Trump's victory?" " TRANSLATION:" " No-one believed he would win." "Except for us!" "APPLAUSE" "Alexander Dugin has been described as Putin's philosopher king." "He's also got his very own pro-Kremlin TV show." "This is first truly interesting election campaign." "It shows that America is on the brink of a revolution." "Was the election of Donald Trump a victory for Vladimir Putin?" "I'm absolutely sure that you overestimate our possibilities." "We are happy that American people have made such a choice, but I am absolutely sure that our influence on the free choice of American people was strictly zero." " We are..." " Absolutely zero?" " Zero." "Some in Team Trump go along with this." "They deny the Russian hacking and blame US intelligence for spreading the story." "The Central Intelligence Agency has a horrific record - they lied to us about Benghazi, they lied to us about Vietnam, they lied to us about the Kennedy assassination." "They're spies." "Spies lie." "It is in their interest to build up this bogeyman of Russia to delegitimise Donald Trump's presidency." "For an incoming president to favour Russia, the old Cold War enemy, over the CIA is unprecedented." "One man who used to run the agency thinks Trump may be naive." "It could be that Trump is playing into Russian hands here." "There is this term of "useful idiot"" "that the Russians throw around for someone who goes along with what they are trying to accomplish without thinking very much about it." "Whether or not there is any truth to the dossier, the former spymaster has a chilling warning for the new president." "They may have something that they've learned through cyber espionage that is detrimental to him - to his reputation or to his business dealings or to his personal standing." "I would think it prudent to assume that is the case." "No computer is safe." "I don't care what they say, no computer is safe." "Since his surprise election victory, Trump's been picking his Cabinet." "Some have been critical of Russia, but others have had curiously close ties to the Kremlin." "Number one, Trump's choice for Secretary of State," "Rex Tillerson." "As head of Exxon he struck huge oil deals in Russia and received the Order of Friendship from Putin in 2013." "MAN SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN" "Number two, retired general Michael Flynn, the new National Security Adviser." "..between Russia and the United States." "He got paid for speaking at a Russia Today event and sat next to Putin." "Flynn has denied taking Kremlin cash for his appearance - but a Russia Today source told Panorama that a typical fee would be tens of thousands of dollars." "I didn't take any money from Russia, if that's what you're asking me." "Well, then, who paid you?" " My speakers' bureau." "Ask them." " OK." "It's nasty and it's tough." "Number three, Steve Bannon," "Trump's new chief strategist and the former editor of controversial right-wing website Breitbart." "With Bannon, the issue is not Moscow gold, but his sympathy for some of Putin's ideology - especially the Kremlin's line on how to fight Isis." "They have a Twitter account up today, Isis does, about turning the United States into a river of blood - and trust me, that is going to come to Europe." "And on top of that, we're now, I believe, at the beginning stages of a global war against Islamic fascism." "And here's that thought translated into Trump-speak." "I would bomb the shit out of them." "CHEERING" "On Syria, throughout the campaign," "Trump was more supportive of Putin's approach than Obama's - but the problem with fighting Isis the Kremlin's way in places like Aleppo is you end up bombing civilians who have nothing to do with Isis." "Putin's guru is delighted with Trump's line on Syria." "He sees it as part of a new global movement." "Trump is realist." "Putin is realist." "I think his election, it is sign of the choice, historical choice, of American people in favour of realist attitudes towards international relations instead of liberal or globalist." "Both Trump and Putin see themselves as strong leaders who put national interests above all." "The problem is, at some point..." "'The man Trump wanted as our ambassador to the States 'has a handle on what's behind the new world order.'" "So, why do people on the right admire Vladimir Putin?" "I think it's a question of people who believe in nation-state democracy have some admiration for Vladimir Putin - and, of course, what we've had is decades of our political leaders effectively trying to get rid of nation-state democracy." "So, what you saw in 2016 was nation-state democracy making a comeback." "Is Russia a democracy?" "Not properly, no." "Is Russia is a democracy?" "Not a proper democracy, as we understand it, no." "Democracy is under fire in Russia." "Since Putin came to power, more than 20 opposition figures and journalists have been killed." "If you care about democracy, this is an important place - the Kremlin is 100 yards away, and it was here almost two years ago that Boris Nemtsov, the bravest and most outspoken of the leaders of the Russian opposition," "was shot dead." "People ask questions about Vladimir Putin's commitment to democracy." "But democ..." "Please be careful - and you could not teach us democracy because you're trying to impose to every people, every state," "American system of values without asking, and it is absolutely racist." "You are racist." "'In Russia, the pro-Kremlin camp doesn't like being challenged.'" "OK, but what happens is, if you're critical of Vladimir Putin," " you may end up dead." " If you..." "For example, if you are engaged in WikiLeaks, you can be murdered." " Julian Assange is dead, is he?" " Not, but the people..." "So, hold on a second - please, tell me about Boris Nemtsov." " He was murdered 100 yards from..." " By Putin?" " You think he was murdered by Putin?" " He was critical of Putin." "Can you tell me..." "Can you list the number of American journalists who have died under Obama?" " It is a completely stupid..." " You can't, can you?" " ..kind of conversation." " OK, very good." "Please..." "Very nice to meet you, but I don't like to continue." "So, do you think Mr Trump will make the world a safer place?" "Shortly after he walked out of our interview, Mr Dugin posted a blog in which he accused me of making fake news." "He called me a repulsive bastard, an utter cretin and a globalist swine." "Such is language of the new world order." "ALL CHANT" "In America, now, you can hear the echo of Russian politics." "You are fake news." "I'd like to punch him in the face, I'll tell you." "Get him out." "I don't know if I would have done well, but I would have been boom, boom, boom..." "I think democracy is in trouble." "I think the example that Trump set in the way he conducted and ran his election campaign, his use of open lies, fake news, the hint of violence," "I think all of this was incredibly damaging to democracy." "They'd be carried out on a stretcher, folks." "What's interesting about Trump, of course, is, I think one of the great comments of the whole US campaign was that you should take Trump seriously but not literally - and that, I think, comes right through that campaign." "Trump may have his reasons for playing nice with Putin, but here in Ukraine you can see why Putin might want to get along with Trump." "After Russia annexed Crimea, part of Ukraine, in 2014, the West imposed sanctions on Russia, which cost the country $160 billion, and hurt Putin, too..." "..but that didn't stop Putin sending his ghost army into the East - soldiers disguised as volunteers." "Today, the war continues." "How far is the front line from here?" " TRANSLATION:" " 'The enemy's on two sides from us." "'They're close." "'Sometimes very close.'" "Who's driving this war?" "'It's Russia controlling them, and they're Russia's pawns.'" "Keep low, move fast." "OK." "GUNFIRE" "And we're moving, because... there's a bit of a firefight behind us." "Incoming, you can hear the crack." ""Tshh-kuh."" "The young have deserted the village of Vodyane." "Only the old remain." "I asked this man what it's like living on the front line." " TRANSLATION:" " 'My children will say Russian fascists 'killed their Ukrainian father." "'Sometimes it's so frightening." "'Two weeks ago, after artillery fire, my wife suffered a stroke.'" "Two years on, and nearly 10,000 dead, there's no sign to the end of fighting here in Eastern Ukraine, but the fear is, with Donald Trump in the White House, the prospects for peace are even further away than ever." "But does the Donald give a damn?" "So, you don't think Ukraine's our responsibility?" "I don't like what's happening with Ukraine." " Yeah." " But that's really a problem that affects Europe a lot more than it affects us, and they should be leading some of this charge." "So, you wouldn't allow Ukraine into NATO?" "I would not care that much, to be honest with you," " whether it goes in or doesn't go in." " Mm-hm." " I wouldn't care." "Mr Putin, John Sweeney from the BBC." "'Russia denies they're the aggressor in Ukraine." "'In 2014, I caught up with President Putin in Siberia 'and challenged him.'" "..Malaysians, British, Dutch." "Do you regret the killings in the Ukraine?" " TRANSLATION:" " 'The main problem is that the authorities in Kiev 'do not want a political dialogue with the east of their country.'" "But what are the Russians doing..." "'In Moscow today, the line remains, "Russia has done nothing wrong." '" "There is no Russian aggression at all." "There is no agenda for a greater Russia?" "There is no agenda for greater Russia." "We want to have a strong and self-sufficient country, but there are no plans for any expansion of Russia." "So, will America change tack on Ukraine?" "This week, Trump has said that in return for a nuclear weapons deal he might lift sanctions." "Trump has to be mindful of Russia's very clear interests in Ukraine and how their politics ultimately play out." "I do think that there are some thorny issues regarding Crimea, regarding Ukraine, that Trump is going to have to work through with Putin." "They are within the sphere of influence of his country." "They're on his borders." "He has every right to have concerns about them and what we're doing in these regards." "But if Donald Trump turns a blind eye to Russian warmongering and lifts sanctions, then the Kremlin might see it as a green light to exert its power further west." "I haven't been sleeping well since the invasion of Crimea." "I have since then begun to worry about what Russia's aims are in Europe, and about the possibility of a nuclear clash or a conventional clash of an incredibly dangerous kind in the Baltic states, in Central Europe and in Ukraine." "Having Trump in the White House does not make me feel better." "Even if the unverified dossier is a pack of lies, it could still change things." "Trump's already sounding tougher on Russia's actions in Syria." "He can't let it look like Putin has a hold over him." "Do you honestly believe that Hillary would be tougher on Putin than me?" "Does anybody in this room really believe that?" "If Putin is blackmailing Trump, that's no basis for a stable relationship." "If he's not, you still can't rule out a clash." "They both seem like rather brittle personalities when it comes to being challenged." "We've seen that in Trump, and we've certainly seen it in Putin." "So, I think I would not want to see these two get into some kind of a macho shootout." "Whatever the truth, Trump's locked in a strange embrace with Vladimir Putin, an ally who could so easily become an adversary." "If the bromance ends and President Donald Trump falls out with President Vladimir Putin then, to put it mildly, that's not good." "We face a prospect of a brand-new Cold War, colder than ever before."