🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 51 (from laksa098)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa051.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/09/politics/russia-us-spy-extracted\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/09/politics/russia-us-spy-extracted\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/09\/09\/politics\/russia-us-spy-extracted","crawl_time":1776153030,"first_indexed_time":1568142664,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,cnn!www,\/2019\/09\/09\/politics\/russia-us-spy-extracted s443","src_root_hash":"2312100192101524051","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Exclusive: US extracted top spy from inside Russia in 2017 | CNN Politics","meta_descriptions":["In a previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the United States successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government, multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge told CNN."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Washington\nCNN\n — \nIn a previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the United States successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government, multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge told CNN.\nA person directly involved in the discussions said that the removal of the Russian was driven, in part, by concerns that\nPresident Donald Trump\nand his administration repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence and could contribute to exposing the covert source as a spy.\nThe decision to carry out the extraction occurred soon after a May 2017 meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump discussed\nhighly classified intelligence\nwith Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. The intelligence, concerning ISIS in Syria, had been provided by Israel.\nAd Feedback\nAd Feedback\nThe disclosure to the Russians by the President, though not about the Russian spy specifically, prompted intelligence officials to renew earlier discussions about the potential risk of exposure, according to the source directly involved in the matter.\nAt the time, then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo told other senior Trump administration officials that too much information was coming out regarding the covert source, known as an asset. An extraction, or “exfiltration” as such an operation is referred to by intelligence officials, is an extraordinary remedy when US intelligence believes an asset is in immediate danger.\nThe source was considered the highest level source for the US inside the Kremlin, high up in the national security infrastructure, according to the source familiar with the matter and a former senior intelligence official.\nAccording to CNN’s sources, the spy had access to Putin and could even provide images of documents on the Russian leader’s desk.\nThe covert source provided information for more than a decade, according to the sources, and an initial effort to extract the spy, after exposure concerns, was rebuffed by the informant.\nCNN is reporting the additional information about the covert source who was extracted from Russia in 2017. The information, which adds further understanding to the value of the informant, was initially withheld by CNN but was subsequently reported by the New York Times Monday evening.\nA US official said before the secret operation there was media speculation about the existence of such a covert source, and such coverage or public speculation poses risks to the safety of anyone a foreign government suspects may be involved. This official did not identify any public reporting to that effect at the time of this decision and CNN could not find any related reference in media reports.\nAsked for comment, Brittany Bramell, the CIA director of public affairs, told CNN: “CNN’s narrative that the Central Intelligence Agency makes life-or-death decisions based on anything other than objective analysis and sound collection is simply false. Misguided speculation that the President’s handling of our nation’s most sensitive intelligence—which he has access to each and every day—drove an alleged exfiltration operation is inaccurate.”\nA spokesperson for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said, “CNN’s reporting is not only incorrect, it has the potential to put lives in danger.”\nThe removal happened at a time of wide concern in the intelligence community about mishandling of intelligence by Trump and his administration. Those concerns were described to CNN by five sources who served in the Trump administration, intelligence agencies and Congress.\nThose concerns continued to grow in the period after Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Kislyak and Lavrov. Weeks after the decision to extract the spy, in July 2017, Trump met privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg and took the unusual step of confiscating the interpreter’s notes. Afterward, intelligence officials again expressed concern that the President may have improperly discussed classified intelligence with Russia, according to an intelligence source with knowledge of the intelligence community’s response to the Trump-Putin meeting.\nKnowledge of the Russian covert source’s existence was highly restricted within the US government and intelligence agencies. According to one source, there was “no equal alternative” inside the Russian government, providing both insight and information on Putin.\nUntold stories of American spies\nGet unprecedented access to the world of espionage with CNN Original Series\n“Declassified,”\nairing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET\/PT starting September 29.\nThe secret removal of the high-level Russian asset has left the US without one of its key sources on the inner workings of the Kremlin and the plans and thinking of the Russian president at a time when tensions between the two nations have been growing. The US intelligence community considers Russia one of the\ntwo greatest threats to US national security\n, along with China.\n“The impact would be huge because it is so hard to develop sources like that in any denied area, particularly Russia, because the surveillance and security there is so stringent,” a former senior intelligence official told CNN. “You can’t reacquire a capability like that overnight.”\nThe decision to pull the asset out of Russia was the culmination of months of mounting fear within the intelligence community.\nAt the end of the Obama administration, US intelligence officials had already expressed concerns about the safety of this spy and other Russian assets, given the length of their cooperation with the US, according to the former senior intelligence official.\nThose concerns grew in early 2017 after the US intelligence community\nreleased its public report\non Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which said Putin himself ordered the operation. The intelligence community also shared a classified version of the report with the incoming Trump administration, and it included highly protected details on the sources behind the intelligence. Senior US intelligence officials considered extracting at least one Russian asset at the time but did not do so, according to the former senior intelligence official.\nIn the first months of his administration, Trump’s handling of classified intelligence further concerned intelligence officials. Ultimately, they decided to launch the difficult operation to remove an asset who had been working for the US for years.\nThe President was informed in advance of the extraction, along with a small number of senior officials. Details of the extraction itself remain secret and the whereabouts of the asset today are unknown to CNN.\nUPDATE: This story has been updated to include additional details about the covert source.\nCNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.","attrs_markdown":"Thank You\\!\n\nYour effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much appreciated.\n\nClose\n\nAd Feedback\n\n[Politics](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics)\n\n[Elections 2026](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/election\/2026)\n\n[Trump](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/president-donald-trump-47)\n\n[Facts First](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/fact-check)\n\n[CNN Polls](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/polling)\n\n[Redistricting Tracker](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/state-redistricting-maps-vis\/index.html)\n\n[Epstein Files](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/epstein-files)\n\n[More]()\n\n[Elections 2026](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/election\/2026)   [Trump](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/president-donald-trump-47)   [Facts First](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/fact-check)   [CNN Polls](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/polling)   [Redistricting Tracker](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/state-redistricting-maps-vis\/index.html)   [Epstein Files](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/epstein-files)\n\n[Watch](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/subscription\/all-access)   [Listen](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/audio)\n\nSubscribe\n\nSign in\n\nMy Account\n\n- [Settings](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/account\/settings)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)\n- [Topics you follow](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/follow?iid=fw_var-nav)\n- [Sign out](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/09\/09\/politics\/russia-us-spy-extracted)\n\nYour CNN account Sign in to your CNN account\n***\nSign in\n\nMy Account\n\n- [Settings](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/account\/settings)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)\n- [Topics you follow](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/follow?iid=fw_var-nav)\n- [Sign out](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/09\/09\/politics\/russia-us-spy-extracted)\n\nYour CNN account Sign in to your CNN account\n***\n[Listen](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/audio)   [Watch](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/subscription\/all-access)\n***\nEdition\n\n[US](https:\/\/us.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\n[International](https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\n[Arabic](https:\/\/arabic.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\n[Español](https:\/\/cnnespanol.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n\nEdition\n\n- [US](https:\/\/us.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n- [International](https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n- [Arabic](https:\/\/arabic.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n- [Español](https:\/\/cnnespanol.cnn.com\/?hpt=header_edition-picker)\n***\n[Elections 2026](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/election\/2026)\n\n[Trump](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/president-donald-trump-47)\n\n[Facts First](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/fact-check)\n\n[CNN Polls](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/polling)\n\n[Redistricting Tracker](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/state-redistricting-maps-vis\/index.html)\n\n[Epstein Files](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/epstein-files)\n***\nFollow CNN Politics\n\nDownload the CNN App\n***\n\n- [US](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us)\n  - 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[Subscribe](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/subscription?source=sub_web_footersubnav-link)\n  - [Photos](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/world\/photos)\n  - [Investigations](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/cnn-investigates)\n  - [CNN Profiles](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles)\n  - [CNN Leadership](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/cnn-leadership)\n  - [CNN Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)\n  - [Work for CNN](https:\/\/careers.wbd.com\/cnnjobs)\n***\nDownload the CNN App\n\n# Exclusive: US extracted top spy from inside Russia in 2017\n[![Jim Sciutto](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/cnn-fallback-image.jpg)](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/jim-sciutto)\n\nBy [Jim Sciutto](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/jim-sciutto), Chief National Security Correspondent\n\n5 min read\n\nUpdated 10:01 PM EDT, Mon September 9, 2019\n\nLink Copied\\!\n\n**Unable to load video**\n\nPlease try again later.\n\nError occurred while fetching labs\n\nSubtitles\n\n- Off\n\nVideo Ad Feedback\n\nUS quietly removed top spy from Russia in 2017\n\n04:11   • Source: [CNN](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/)\n\nLatest Videos  10 videos\n\n![Speaking in Islamabad on Sunday, Vice President JD Vance said marathon talks with Iran did not result in an agreement to permanently end the war.](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/cnn-fallback-image.jpg)\n\nVideo Ad Feedback\n\nWatch Vance deliver update from Pakistan after more than 12 hours of talks between US and Iran\n\n01:51\n\nNow playing\n\n• Source: [CNN](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/)\n\n![118755\\_GrandCentralStabbing 16x9 thumbnail.png](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/cnn-fallback-image.jpg)\n\nVideo Ad Feedback\n\nPolice kill suspect after 3 people attacked at Grand Central Station\n\n00:51\n\nNow playing\n\n• Source: [CNN](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/)\n\n![still\\_22529862\\_28432.932999999997\\_still-1.jpg](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/cnn-fallback-image.jpg)\n\nVideo Ad Feedback\n\n'Perfect bullseye splashdown!' 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See the moment Orion makes contact with Pacific Ocean\n\n01:12\n\nNow playing\n\n• Source: [CNN](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/)\n\n![US President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a meeting in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018. ](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/cnn-fallback-image.jpg)\n\nVideo Ad Feedback\n\nUS quietly removed top spy from Russia in 2017\n\n04:11\n\nNow playing\n\n• Source: [CNN](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/)\n\n![WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 25: U.S. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) speaks at a press conference on committee assignments for the 118th U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) recently rejected the reappointments of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to the House Intelligence Committee and has threatened to stop Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/cnn-fallback-image.jpg)\n\nVideo Ad Feedback\n\nSwalwell says he plans to resign from Congress amid sexual misconduct allegations\n\n02:29\n\nNow playing\n\n• Source: [CNN](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/)\n\n![ai.jpg](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/cnn-fallback-image.jpg)\n\nVideo Ad Feedback\n\nTrump claims the Jesus-like image he posted was meant to depict him as a doctor\n\n02:02\n\nNow playing\n\n• Source: [CNN](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/)\n\nSee more videos\n\nWashington\n\nCNN\n\n—\n\nIn a previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the United States successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government, multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge told CNN.\n\nA person directly involved in the discussions said that the removal of the Russian was driven, in part, by concerns that [President Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/specials\/politics\/president-donald-trump-45) and his administration repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence and could contribute to exposing the covert source as a spy.\n\nThe decision to carry out the extraction occurred soon after a May 2017 meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump discussed [highly classified intelligence](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2017\/05\/15\/politics\/trump-russia-classified-information\/index.html) with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. The intelligence, concerning ISIS in Syria, had been provided by Israel.\n\nAd Feedback\n\nAd Feedback\n\nThe disclosure to the Russians by the President, though not about the Russian spy specifically, prompted intelligence officials to renew earlier discussions about the potential risk of exposure, according to the source directly involved in the matter.\n\nAt the time, then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo told other senior Trump administration officials that too much information was coming out regarding the covert source, known as an asset. An extraction, or “exfiltration” as such an operation is referred to by intelligence officials, is an extraordinary remedy when US intelligence believes an asset is in immediate danger.\n\nThe source was considered the highest level source for the US inside the Kremlin, high up in the national security infrastructure, according to the source familiar with the matter and a former senior intelligence official.\n\nAccording to CNN’s sources, the spy had access to Putin and could even provide images of documents on the Russian leader’s desk.\n\nThe covert source provided information for more than a decade, according to the sources, and an initial effort to extract the spy, after exposure concerns, was rebuffed by the informant.\n\nCNN is reporting the additional information about the covert source who was extracted from Russia in 2017. The information, which adds further understanding to the value of the informant, was initially withheld by CNN but was subsequently reported by the New York Times Monday evening.\n\nA US official said before the secret operation there was media speculation about the existence of such a covert source, and such coverage or public speculation poses risks to the safety of anyone a foreign government suspects may be involved. This official did not identify any public reporting to that effect at the time of this decision and CNN could not find any related reference in media reports.\n\nAsked for comment, Brittany Bramell, the CIA director of public affairs, told CNN: “CNN’s narrative that the Central Intelligence Agency makes life-or-death decisions based on anything other than objective analysis and sound collection is simply false. Misguided speculation that the President’s handling of our nation’s most sensitive intelligence—which he has access to each and every day—drove an alleged exfiltration operation is inaccurate.”\n\nA spokesperson for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said, “CNN’s reporting is not only incorrect, it has the potential to put lives in danger.”\n\n## Wide concerns about Trump in intelligence community\nThe removal happened at a time of wide concern in the intelligence community about mishandling of intelligence by Trump and his administration. Those concerns were described to CNN by five sources who served in the Trump administration, intelligence agencies and Congress.\n\nThose concerns continued to grow in the period after Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Kislyak and Lavrov. Weeks after the decision to extract the spy, in July 2017, Trump met privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg and took the unusual step of confiscating the interpreter’s notes. Afterward, intelligence officials again expressed concern that the President may have improperly discussed classified intelligence with Russia, according to an intelligence source with knowledge of the intelligence community’s response to the Trump-Putin meeting.\n\nKnowledge of the Russian covert source’s existence was highly restricted within the US government and intelligence agencies. According to one source, there was “no equal alternative” inside the Russian government, providing both insight and information on Putin.\n\n### Untold stories of American spies\nGet unprecedented access to the world of espionage with CNN Original Series [“Declassified,”](http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/shows\/declassified) airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET\/PT starting September 29.\n\nThe secret removal of the high-level Russian asset has left the US without one of its key sources on the inner workings of the Kremlin and the plans and thinking of the Russian president at a time when tensions between the two nations have been growing. The US intelligence community considers Russia one of the [two greatest threats to US national security](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/01\/22\/politics\/odni-national-intelligence-strategy-threats\/index.html), along with China.\n\n“The impact would be huge because it is so hard to develop sources like that in any denied area, particularly Russia, because the surveillance and security there is so stringent,” a former senior intelligence official told CNN. “You can’t reacquire a capability like that overnight.”\n\n## Months of mounting fear\nThe decision to pull the asset out of Russia was the culmination of months of mounting fear within the intelligence community.\n\nAt the end of the Obama administration, US intelligence officials had already expressed concerns about the safety of this spy and other Russian assets, given the length of their cooperation with the US, according to the former senior intelligence official.\n\nThose concerns grew in early 2017 after the US intelligence community [released its public report](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2017\/01\/06\/politics\/intelligence-report-putin-election\/index.html) on Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which said Putin himself ordered the operation. The intelligence community also shared a classified version of the report with the incoming Trump administration, and it included highly protected details on the sources behind the intelligence. Senior US intelligence officials considered extracting at least one Russian asset at the time but did not do so, according to the former senior intelligence official.\n\nIn the first months of his administration, Trump’s handling of classified intelligence further concerned intelligence officials. Ultimately, they decided to launch the difficult operation to remove an asset who had been working for the US for years.\n\nThe President was informed in advance of the extraction, along with a small number of senior officials. Details of the extraction itself remain secret and the whereabouts of the asset today are unknown to CNN.\n\n*UPDATE: This story has been updated to include additional details about the covert source.*\n\nCNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.\n\nAd Feedback\n\nAd Feedback\n\nAd Feedback\n\nSubscribe\n\nSign in\n\nMy Account\n\n- [Settings](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/account\/settings)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters)\n- [Topics you follow](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/follow?iid=fw_var-nav)\n- [Sign out](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/09\/09\/politics\/russia-us-spy-extracted)\n\nYour CNN account Sign in to your CNN account\n***\n[Listen](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/audio)   [Watch](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/watch)\n***\n- [US](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us)\n  - [Crime & Justice](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/crime-and-justice)\n  - [Immigration](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/immigration)\n  - [Education](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/education)\n  - [Transportation](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/transportation)\n  - 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A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.   \n CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.\n\n## Download the CNN app\nScan the QR code to download the CNN app on Google Play.\n\n![Scan the QR code to download the CNN app from Google Play.](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/google-play-cnn-app-qr-code.png)\n\n## Download the CNN app\nScan the QR code to download the CNN app from the Apple Store.\n\n![Scan the QR code to download the CNN app from the Apple Store.](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/app-store-cnn-app-qr-code.png)\n\n![CNN Logo](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/media\/sites\/cnn\/cnn.svg)\n\n## Legal Terms and Privacy\nBy clicking Agree, you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and agree to the collection and use of your information by cookies and similar technologies, as set forth in our Privacy Policy.\n\nBy clicking \"Agree\", you have read and agree to the [Terms of Use](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/terms) and agree to the collection and use of your information by cookies and similar technologies, as set forth in our [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/privacy).\n\n[Agree](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/09\/09\/politics\/russia-us-spy-extracted)","attrs_readable_markdown":"Washington CNN —\n\nIn a previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the United States successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government, multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge told CNN.\n\nA person directly involved in the discussions said that the removal of the Russian was driven, in part, by concerns that [President Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/specials\/politics\/president-donald-trump-45) and his administration repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence and could contribute to exposing the covert source as a spy.\n\nThe decision to carry out the extraction occurred soon after a May 2017 meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump discussed [highly classified intelligence](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2017\/05\/15\/politics\/trump-russia-classified-information\/index.html) with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. The intelligence, concerning ISIS in Syria, had been provided by Israel.\n\nAd Feedback\n\nAd Feedback\n\nThe disclosure to the Russians by the President, though not about the Russian spy specifically, prompted intelligence officials to renew earlier discussions about the potential risk of exposure, according to the source directly involved in the matter.\n\nAt the time, then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo told other senior Trump administration officials that too much information was coming out regarding the covert source, known as an asset. An extraction, or “exfiltration” as such an operation is referred to by intelligence officials, is an extraordinary remedy when US intelligence believes an asset is in immediate danger.\n\nThe source was considered the highest level source for the US inside the Kremlin, high up in the national security infrastructure, according to the source familiar with the matter and a former senior intelligence official.\n\nAccording to CNN’s sources, the spy had access to Putin and could even provide images of documents on the Russian leader’s desk.\n\nThe covert source provided information for more than a decade, according to the sources, and an initial effort to extract the spy, after exposure concerns, was rebuffed by the informant.\n\nCNN is reporting the additional information about the covert source who was extracted from Russia in 2017. The information, which adds further understanding to the value of the informant, was initially withheld by CNN but was subsequently reported by the New York Times Monday evening.\n\nA US official said before the secret operation there was media speculation about the existence of such a covert source, and such coverage or public speculation poses risks to the safety of anyone a foreign government suspects may be involved. This official did not identify any public reporting to that effect at the time of this decision and CNN could not find any related reference in media reports.\n\nAsked for comment, Brittany Bramell, the CIA director of public affairs, told CNN: “CNN’s narrative that the Central Intelligence Agency makes life-or-death decisions based on anything other than objective analysis and sound collection is simply false. Misguided speculation that the President’s handling of our nation’s most sensitive intelligence—which he has access to each and every day—drove an alleged exfiltration operation is inaccurate.”\n\nA spokesperson for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said, “CNN’s reporting is not only incorrect, it has the potential to put lives in danger.”\n\nThe removal happened at a time of wide concern in the intelligence community about mishandling of intelligence by Trump and his administration. Those concerns were described to CNN by five sources who served in the Trump administration, intelligence agencies and Congress.\n\nThose concerns continued to grow in the period after Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Kislyak and Lavrov. Weeks after the decision to extract the spy, in July 2017, Trump met privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg and took the unusual step of confiscating the interpreter’s notes. Afterward, intelligence officials again expressed concern that the President may have improperly discussed classified intelligence with Russia, according to an intelligence source with knowledge of the intelligence community’s response to the Trump-Putin meeting.\n\nKnowledge of the Russian covert source’s existence was highly restricted within the US government and intelligence agencies. According to one source, there was “no equal alternative” inside the Russian government, providing both insight and information on Putin.\n\n### Untold stories of American spies\nGet unprecedented access to the world of espionage with CNN Original Series [“Declassified,”](http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/shows\/declassified) airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET\/PT starting September 29.\n\nThe secret removal of the high-level Russian asset has left the US without one of its key sources on the inner workings of the Kremlin and the plans and thinking of the Russian president at a time when tensions between the two nations have been growing. The US intelligence community considers Russia one of the [two greatest threats to US national security](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/01\/22\/politics\/odni-national-intelligence-strategy-threats\/index.html), along with China.\n\n“The impact would be huge because it is so hard to develop sources like that in any denied area, particularly Russia, because the surveillance and security there is so stringent,” a former senior intelligence official told CNN. “You can’t reacquire a capability like that overnight.”\n\nThe decision to pull the asset out of Russia was the culmination of months of mounting fear within the intelligence community.\n\nAt the end of the Obama administration, US intelligence officials had already expressed concerns about the safety of this spy and other Russian assets, given the length of their cooperation with the US, according to the former senior intelligence official.\n\nThose concerns grew in early 2017 after the US intelligence community [released its public report](https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2017\/01\/06\/politics\/intelligence-report-putin-election\/index.html) on Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which said Putin himself ordered the operation. The intelligence community also shared a classified version of the report with the incoming Trump administration, and it included highly protected details on the sources behind the intelligence. Senior US intelligence officials considered extracting at least one Russian asset at the time but did not do so, according to the former senior intelligence official.\n\nIn the first months of his administration, Trump’s handling of classified intelligence further concerned intelligence officials. Ultimately, they decided to launch the difficult operation to remove an asset who had been working for the US for years.\n\nThe President was informed in advance of the extraction, along with a small number of senior officials. Details of the extraction itself remain secret and the whereabouts of the asset today are unknown to CNN.\n\n*UPDATE: This story has been updated to include additional details about the covert source.*\n\nCNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.","meta_canonical":null}

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URL	https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/09/politics/russia-us-spy-extracted
Last Crawled	2026-04-14 07:50:30 (1 day ago)
First Indexed	2019-09-10 19:11:04 (6 years ago)
HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	Exclusive: US extracted top spy from inside Russia in 2017 \| CNN Politics
Meta Description	In a previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the United States successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government, multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge told CNN.
Meta Canonical	null
Boilerpipe Text	Washington CNN — In a previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the United States successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government, multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge told CNN. A person directly involved in the discussions said that the removal of the Russian was driven, in part, by concerns that President Donald Trump and his administration repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence and could contribute to exposing the covert source as a spy. The decision to carry out the extraction occurred soon after a May 2017 meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump discussed highly classified intelligence with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. The intelligence, concerning ISIS in Syria, had been provided by Israel. Ad Feedback Ad Feedback The disclosure to the Russians by the President, though not about the Russian spy specifically, prompted intelligence officials to renew earlier discussions about the potential risk of exposure, according to the source directly involved in the matter. At the time, then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo told other senior Trump administration officials that too much information was coming out regarding the covert source, known as an asset. An extraction, or “exfiltration” as such an operation is referred to by intelligence officials, is an extraordinary remedy when US intelligence believes an asset is in immediate danger. The source was considered the highest level source for the US inside the Kremlin, high up in the national security infrastructure, according to the source familiar with the matter and a former senior intelligence official. According to CNN’s sources, the spy had access to Putin and could even provide images of documents on the Russian leader’s desk. The covert source provided information for more than a decade, according to the sources, and an initial effort to extract the spy, after exposure concerns, was rebuffed by the informant. CNN is reporting the additional information about the covert source who was extracted from Russia in 2017. The information, which adds further understanding to the value of the informant, was initially withheld by CNN but was subsequently reported by the New York Times Monday evening. A US official said before the secret operation there was media speculation about the existence of such a covert source, and such coverage or public speculation poses risks to the safety of anyone a foreign government suspects may be involved. This official did not identify any public reporting to that effect at the time of this decision and CNN could not find any related reference in media reports. Asked for comment, Brittany Bramell, the CIA director of public affairs, told CNN: “CNN’s narrative that the Central Intelligence Agency makes life-or-death decisions based on anything other than objective analysis and sound collection is simply false. Misguided speculation that the President’s handling of our nation’s most sensitive intelligence—which he has access to each and every day—drove an alleged exfiltration operation is inaccurate.” A spokesperson for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said, “CNN’s reporting is not only incorrect, it has the potential to put lives in danger.” The removal happened at a time of wide concern in the intelligence community about mishandling of intelligence by Trump and his administration. Those concerns were described to CNN by five sources who served in the Trump administration, intelligence agencies and Congress. Those concerns continued to grow in the period after Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Kislyak and Lavrov. Weeks after the decision to extract the spy, in July 2017, Trump met privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg and took the unusual step of confiscating the interpreter’s notes. Afterward, intelligence officials again expressed concern that the President may have improperly discussed classified intelligence with Russia, according to an intelligence source with knowledge of the intelligence community’s response to the Trump-Putin meeting. Knowledge of the Russian covert source’s existence was highly restricted within the US government and intelligence agencies. According to one source, there was “no equal alternative” inside the Russian government, providing both insight and information on Putin. Untold stories of American spies Get unprecedented access to the world of espionage with CNN Original Series “Declassified,” airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT starting September 29. The secret removal of the high-level Russian asset has left the US without one of its key sources on the inner workings of the Kremlin and the plans and thinking of the Russian president at a time when tensions between the two nations have been growing. The US intelligence community considers Russia one of the two greatest threats to US national security , along with China. “The impact would be huge because it is so hard to develop sources like that in any denied area, particularly Russia, because the surveillance and security there is so stringent,” a former senior intelligence official told CNN. “You can’t reacquire a capability like that overnight.” The decision to pull the asset out of Russia was the culmination of months of mounting fear within the intelligence community. At the end of the Obama administration, US intelligence officials had already expressed concerns about the safety of this spy and other Russian assets, given the length of their cooperation with the US, according to the former senior intelligence official. Those concerns grew in early 2017 after the US intelligence community released its public report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which said Putin himself ordered the operation. The intelligence community also shared a classified version of the report with the incoming Trump administration, and it included highly protected details on the sources behind the intelligence. Senior US intelligence officials considered extracting at least one Russian asset at the time but did not do so, according to the former senior intelligence official. In the first months of his administration, Trump’s handling of classified intelligence further concerned intelligence officials. Ultimately, they decided to launch the difficult operation to remove an asset who had been working for the US for years. The President was informed in advance of the extraction, along with a small number of senior officials. Details of the extraction itself remain secret and the whereabouts of the asset today are unknown to CNN. UPDATE: This story has been updated to include additional details about the covert source. CNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.
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(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)](https://www.cnn.com/media/sites/cnn/cnn-fallback-image.jpg) Video Ad Feedback Swalwell says he plans to resign from Congress amid sexual misconduct allegations 02:29 Now playing • Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/) ![ai.jpg](https://www.cnn.com/media/sites/cnn/cnn-fallback-image.jpg) Video Ad Feedback Trump claims the Jesus-like image he posted was meant to depict him as a doctor 02:02 Now playing • Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/) ![Pope Trump Thumb CLN.jpg](https://www.cnn.com/media/sites/cnn/cnn-fallback-image.jpg) Video Ad Feedback Pope Leo responds to Trump's criticism 01:03 Now playing • Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/) ![118776\_TrumpCallsPopeWeak digvid.jpg](https://www.cnn.com/media/sites/cnn/cnn-fallback-image.jpg) Video Ad Feedback Trump slams Pope for being ‘weak on crime’ 00:41 Now playing • Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/) ![Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban addresses after receiving the results of a parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, April 12, 2026. 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See the moment Orion makes contact with Pacific Ocean 01:12 Now playing • Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/) ![US President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a meeting in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018. ](https://www.cnn.com/media/sites/cnn/cnn-fallback-image.jpg) Video Ad Feedback US quietly removed top spy from Russia in 2017 04:11 Now playing • Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/) ![WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 25: U.S. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) speaks at a press conference on committee assignments for the 118th U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) recently rejected the reappointments of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to the House Intelligence Committee and has threatened to stop Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)](https://www.cnn.com/media/sites/cnn/cnn-fallback-image.jpg) Video Ad Feedback Swalwell says he plans to resign from Congress amid sexual misconduct allegations 02:29 Now playing • Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/) ![ai.jpg](https://www.cnn.com/media/sites/cnn/cnn-fallback-image.jpg) Video Ad Feedback Trump claims the Jesus-like image he posted was meant to depict him as a doctor 02:02 Now playing • Source: [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/) See more videos Washington CNN — In a previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the United States successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government, multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge told CNN. A person directly involved in the discussions said that the removal of the Russian was driven, in part, by concerns that [President Donald Trump](https://www.cnn.com/specials/politics/president-donald-trump-45) and his administration repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence and could contribute to exposing the covert source as a spy. The decision to carry out the extraction occurred soon after a May 2017 meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump discussed [highly classified intelligence](https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/15/politics/trump-russia-classified-information/index.html) with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. The intelligence, concerning ISIS in Syria, had been provided by Israel. Ad Feedback Ad Feedback The disclosure to the Russians by the President, though not about the Russian spy specifically, prompted intelligence officials to renew earlier discussions about the potential risk of exposure, according to the source directly involved in the matter. At the time, then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo told other senior Trump administration officials that too much information was coming out regarding the covert source, known as an asset. An extraction, or “exfiltration” as such an operation is referred to by intelligence officials, is an extraordinary remedy when US intelligence believes an asset is in immediate danger. The source was considered the highest level source for the US inside the Kremlin, high up in the national security infrastructure, according to the source familiar with the matter and a former senior intelligence official. According to CNN’s sources, the spy had access to Putin and could even provide images of documents on the Russian leader’s desk. The covert source provided information for more than a decade, according to the sources, and an initial effort to extract the spy, after exposure concerns, was rebuffed by the informant. CNN is reporting the additional information about the covert source who was extracted from Russia in 2017. The information, which adds further understanding to the value of the informant, was initially withheld by CNN but was subsequently reported by the New York Times Monday evening. A US official said before the secret operation there was media speculation about the existence of such a covert source, and such coverage or public speculation poses risks to the safety of anyone a foreign government suspects may be involved. This official did not identify any public reporting to that effect at the time of this decision and CNN could not find any related reference in media reports. Asked for comment, Brittany Bramell, the CIA director of public affairs, told CNN: “CNN’s narrative that the Central Intelligence Agency makes life-or-death decisions based on anything other than objective analysis and sound collection is simply false. Misguided speculation that the President’s handling of our nation’s most sensitive intelligence—which he has access to each and every day—drove an alleged exfiltration operation is inaccurate.” A spokesperson for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said, “CNN’s reporting is not only incorrect, it has the potential to put lives in danger.” ## Wide concerns about Trump in intelligence community The removal happened at a time of wide concern in the intelligence community about mishandling of intelligence by Trump and his administration. Those concerns were described to CNN by five sources who served in the Trump administration, intelligence agencies and Congress. Those concerns continued to grow in the period after Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Kislyak and Lavrov. Weeks after the decision to extract the spy, in July 2017, Trump met privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg and took the unusual step of confiscating the interpreter’s notes. Afterward, intelligence officials again expressed concern that the President may have improperly discussed classified intelligence with Russia, according to an intelligence source with knowledge of the intelligence community’s response to the Trump-Putin meeting. Knowledge of the Russian covert source’s existence was highly restricted within the US government and intelligence agencies. According to one source, there was “no equal alternative” inside the Russian government, providing both insight and information on Putin. ### Untold stories of American spies Get unprecedented access to the world of espionage with CNN Original Series [“Declassified,”](http://www.cnn.com/shows/declassified) airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT starting September 29. The secret removal of the high-level Russian asset has left the US without one of its key sources on the inner workings of the Kremlin and the plans and thinking of the Russian president at a time when tensions between the two nations have been growing. The US intelligence community considers Russia one of the [two greatest threats to US national security](https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/22/politics/odni-national-intelligence-strategy-threats/index.html), along with China. “The impact would be huge because it is so hard to develop sources like that in any denied area, particularly Russia, because the surveillance and security there is so stringent,” a former senior intelligence official told CNN. “You can’t reacquire a capability like that overnight.” ## Months of mounting fear The decision to pull the asset out of Russia was the culmination of months of mounting fear within the intelligence community. At the end of the Obama administration, US intelligence officials had already expressed concerns about the safety of this spy and other Russian assets, given the length of their cooperation with the US, according to the former senior intelligence official. Those concerns grew in early 2017 after the US intelligence community [released its public report](https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/06/politics/intelligence-report-putin-election/index.html) on Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which said Putin himself ordered the operation. The intelligence community also shared a classified version of the report with the incoming Trump administration, and it included highly protected details on the sources behind the intelligence. Senior US intelligence officials considered extracting at least one Russian asset at the time but did not do so, according to the former senior intelligence official. In the first months of his administration, Trump’s handling of classified intelligence further concerned intelligence officials. Ultimately, they decided to launch the difficult operation to remove an asset who had been working for the US for years. The President was informed in advance of the extraction, along with a small number of senior officials. Details of the extraction itself remain secret and the whereabouts of the asset today are unknown to CNN. UPDATE: This story has been updated to include additional details about the covert source. CNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed to this report. 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Readable Markdown	Washington CNN — In a previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the United States successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government, multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge told CNN. A person directly involved in the discussions said that the removal of the Russian was driven, in part, by concerns that [President Donald Trump](https://www.cnn.com/specials/politics/president-donald-trump-45) and his administration repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence and could contribute to exposing the covert source as a spy. The decision to carry out the extraction occurred soon after a May 2017 meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump discussed [highly classified intelligence](https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/15/politics/trump-russia-classified-information/index.html) with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. The intelligence, concerning ISIS in Syria, had been provided by Israel. Ad Feedback Ad Feedback The disclosure to the Russians by the President, though not about the Russian spy specifically, prompted intelligence officials to renew earlier discussions about the potential risk of exposure, according to the source directly involved in the matter. At the time, then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo told other senior Trump administration officials that too much information was coming out regarding the covert source, known as an asset. An extraction, or “exfiltration” as such an operation is referred to by intelligence officials, is an extraordinary remedy when US intelligence believes an asset is in immediate danger. The source was considered the highest level source for the US inside the Kremlin, high up in the national security infrastructure, according to the source familiar with the matter and a former senior intelligence official. According to CNN’s sources, the spy had access to Putin and could even provide images of documents on the Russian leader’s desk. The covert source provided information for more than a decade, according to the sources, and an initial effort to extract the spy, after exposure concerns, was rebuffed by the informant. CNN is reporting the additional information about the covert source who was extracted from Russia in 2017. The information, which adds further understanding to the value of the informant, was initially withheld by CNN but was subsequently reported by the New York Times Monday evening. A US official said before the secret operation there was media speculation about the existence of such a covert source, and such coverage or public speculation poses risks to the safety of anyone a foreign government suspects may be involved. This official did not identify any public reporting to that effect at the time of this decision and CNN could not find any related reference in media reports. Asked for comment, Brittany Bramell, the CIA director of public affairs, told CNN: “CNN’s narrative that the Central Intelligence Agency makes life-or-death decisions based on anything other than objective analysis and sound collection is simply false. Misguided speculation that the President’s handling of our nation’s most sensitive intelligence—which he has access to each and every day—drove an alleged exfiltration operation is inaccurate.” A spokesperson for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to comment. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said, “CNN’s reporting is not only incorrect, it has the potential to put lives in danger.” The removal happened at a time of wide concern in the intelligence community about mishandling of intelligence by Trump and his administration. Those concerns were described to CNN by five sources who served in the Trump administration, intelligence agencies and Congress. Those concerns continued to grow in the period after Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Kislyak and Lavrov. Weeks after the decision to extract the spy, in July 2017, Trump met privately with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Hamburg and took the unusual step of confiscating the interpreter’s notes. Afterward, intelligence officials again expressed concern that the President may have improperly discussed classified intelligence with Russia, according to an intelligence source with knowledge of the intelligence community’s response to the Trump-Putin meeting. Knowledge of the Russian covert source’s existence was highly restricted within the US government and intelligence agencies. According to one source, there was “no equal alternative” inside the Russian government, providing both insight and information on Putin. ### Untold stories of American spies Get unprecedented access to the world of espionage with CNN Original Series [“Declassified,”](http://www.cnn.com/shows/declassified) airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT starting September 29. The secret removal of the high-level Russian asset has left the US without one of its key sources on the inner workings of the Kremlin and the plans and thinking of the Russian president at a time when tensions between the two nations have been growing. The US intelligence community considers Russia one of the [two greatest threats to US national security](https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/22/politics/odni-national-intelligence-strategy-threats/index.html), along with China. “The impact would be huge because it is so hard to develop sources like that in any denied area, particularly Russia, because the surveillance and security there is so stringent,” a former senior intelligence official told CNN. “You can’t reacquire a capability like that overnight.” The decision to pull the asset out of Russia was the culmination of months of mounting fear within the intelligence community. At the end of the Obama administration, US intelligence officials had already expressed concerns about the safety of this spy and other Russian assets, given the length of their cooperation with the US, according to the former senior intelligence official. Those concerns grew in early 2017 after the US intelligence community [released its public report](https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/06/politics/intelligence-report-putin-election/index.html) on Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which said Putin himself ordered the operation. The intelligence community also shared a classified version of the report with the incoming Trump administration, and it included highly protected details on the sources behind the intelligence. Senior US intelligence officials considered extracting at least one Russian asset at the time but did not do so, according to the former senior intelligence official. In the first months of his administration, Trump’s handling of classified intelligence further concerned intelligence officials. Ultimately, they decided to launch the difficult operation to remove an asset who had been working for the US for years. The President was informed in advance of the extraction, along with a small number of senior officials. Details of the extraction itself remain secret and the whereabouts of the asset today are unknown to CNN. UPDATE: This story has been updated to include additional details about the covert source. CNN’s Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.
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