--- title: U.S. Reportedly Extracted Russian Spy Within Kremlin in 2017 description: CNN reported Monday that the informant was one of the U.S. government's highest-level convert sources within the Russia government. canonical: https://time.com/5673013/russian-spy/ author: Madeleine Carlisle article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-09-10T13:14:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T21:41:04.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: The U.S. Reportedly Extracted High-Level Spy From Russia in 2017 og:description: The informant was reportedly one of the U.S. government's highest-level convert sources within the Russia government og:url: https://time.com/5673013/russian-spy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72ed6687c7fdd41e/698a0294b3fce3303b0c5824/russian-spy.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Russian Spy og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The U.S. Reportedly Extracted High-Level Spy From Russia in 2017 twitter:description: The informant was reportedly one of the U.S. government's highest-level convert sources within the Russia government twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72ed6687c7fdd41e/698a0294b3fce3303b0c5824/russian-spy.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The U.S. Reportedly Extracted a High-Level Spy From Russia in 2017 Amid Concerns of Mishandled Intelligence > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Trump Claims vs. Mueller Report Facts [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Claims vs. Mueller Report Facts](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fUwk0jSG.m3u8) (3:05)  _Published 2019-04-17. Trump Claims vs. Mueller Report Facts_  by [Madeleine Carlisle](https://time.com/author/madeleine-carlisle/)  ## Madeleine Carlisle Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:41 PM UTCPublished: Sep 10, 2019 1:14 PM UTC  President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as they meet for talks in the Oval Office at the White House, May 10, 2017. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as they meet for talks in the Oval Office at the White House, May 10, 2017. Alexander Shcherbak—TASS via Getty Images  by [Madeleine Carlisle](https://time.com/author/madeleine-carlisle/)  ## Madeleine Carlisle Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:41 PM UTCPublished: Sep 10, 2019 1:14 PM UTC The United States reportedly extracted a high-level CIA informant from Russia in 2017, [CNN first reported](https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/09/politics/russia-us-spy-extracted/index.html) Monday. Citing “multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge,” CNN reports the “previously undisclosed secret mission” to extract the Russian spy. A spokesperson for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment to CNN. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told CNN, “CNN’s reporting is not only incorrect, it has the potential to put lives in danger.” _The_ [New York ](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/us/politics/cia-informant-russia.html?te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit%5FNN%5Fp%5F20190910§ion=topNews?campaign%5Fid=9&instance%5Fid=12266&segment%5Fid=16885&user%5Fid=cd140a5a757b676e3ba9990d716773ca®i%5Fid=91372221tion=topNews)[_Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/us/politics/cia-informant-russia.html?te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit%5FNN%5Fp%5F20190910§ion=topNews?campaign%5Fid=9&instance%5Fid=12266&segment%5Fid=16885&user%5Fid=cd140a5a757b676e3ba9990d716773ca®i%5Fid=91372221tion=topNews) reported that U.S. intelligence officials first thought the informant might be in danger in late 2016 after the U.S. government revealed the severity of [Russia’s election interference](https://time.com/5565991/russia-influence-2016-election/) and the media began following up on details about the CIA’s Kremlin sources. The _Times_ reports that the informant first declined the extraction, citing “family concerns,” but agreed months later after media inquiries increased. According to CNN, the Russian spy had been a crucial asset for the United States government, having access to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The spy had reportedly been providing information for more than a decade. The _Times_ reported that the informant was crucial to the U.S.’s understanding of the scope of the Russian government’s interference in the 2016 election, and the extraction “effectively blinded” American intelligence officials to “the view from inside Russia as they sought clues about Kremlin interference in the 2018 midterm elections and next year’s presidential contest.” The information the informant provided during his time in Russia was so sensitive the _Times_ reports, that even prior to the Trump Administration, CIA John O. Brennan sent President Obama the intelligence reports in separate sealed envelopes to the Oval Office. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5673013/russian-spy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5673013/russian-spy/"},"headline":"The U.S. Reportedly Extracted a High-Level Spy From Russia in 2017 Amid Concerns of Mishandled Intelligence","datePublished":"2019-09-10T13:14:01.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T21:41:04.000Z","description":"The informant was reportedly one of the U.S. government's highest-level convert sources within the Russia government","url":"https://time.com/5673013/russian-spy/","keywords":["National Security","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72ed6687c7fdd41e/698a0294b3fce3303b0c5824/russian-spy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Madeleine Carlisle","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/madeleine-carlisle/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72ed6687c7fdd41e/698a0294b3fce3303b0c5824/russian-spy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Russian Spy","caption":"Russian Spy","creditText":"Alexander Shcherbak—TASS via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/national-security/","name":"National Security"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5673013/russian-spy/","name":"The U.S. Reportedly Extracted a High-Level Spy From Russia in 2017 Amid Concerns of Mishandled Intelligence"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Trump Claims vs. Mueller Report Facts","description":"Trump Claims vs. Mueller Report Facts","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fUwk0jSG/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-04-17T18:11:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fUwk0jSG.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5673013/russian-spy/","duration":"PT3M5S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5673013/russian-spy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```