FBI Director Kash Patel received a warning from Russia’s top Kremlin-friendly tabloid ahead of his October visit, according to The Daily Beast.
The Moskovsky Komsomolets piece told Patel to “come bearing gifts,” The Daily Beast wrote.
The Komsomolets report includes a quote from Vladimir Vasiliev, a political analyst from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Arbatov Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies.
“It’s assumed that Russia has some kind of dirt on the Democrats,” Vasiliev reportedly said in Russian. “We could provide it, in one form or another, to the American side.”
Vasiliev works with the Russian International Affairs Council, which is overseen by the country’s top diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, and “widely known” for spreading the Kremlin official line in state-controlled media, The Daily Beast reported.
“At the same time, the Americans might also have something to share, seeing as the Russian side could ask, ‘What do we get in return?’ or inquire, ‘What do you have to say about this or that issue?’” Vasiliev said, according to The Daily Beast.
“What’s stopping the FBI director from acting as a mediator or, say, a liaison officer?”
Patel said in an interview with Reuters earlier this week that the FBI has cooperated with Russian and Chinese counterparts in exchanging information.
He’s also been a part of political battles surrounding Russia, according to the Daily Beast, noting that he “worked to undermine” the investigation into whether Trump’s political campaign worked with Russia during the 2016 election.
The exact date of Patel’s visit remains unknown, according to The Daily Beast. However, Politico reported that Patel is supposed to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg in October and will likely be hosted by the FSB, Russia’s security service.
“Two months is a long time with a lot of things possible,” Vasiliev said. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
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